Zen Garden
by Lark R. Starling
Summary: Zen is a demon assassin sent to murder Yusuke Urameshi. But her plans are messed up when she saves Hiei's life, invoking an ancient demonic law that states Hiei will be in her debt until he can pay her back. But why does Hiei hate her so much? Hiei x OC
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own any of the Yuyu Hakusho characters.

* * *

I tapped one of my sheathed daggers impatiently on my knee, taking great care that the Boss didn't notice. I had waited too long for an assignment from the top - there was no way I was blowing it by being disrespectful while he finished his phone call.

I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying to the person on the other end. If it concerned me, the Boss'd let me know. That was how things worked in the Requiem. You didn't overstep your bounds, or you were likely to find your throat slit.

Finally, the Boss snapped the phone down, seemingly pissed off. I leaned back a little in my chair, clutching one of my knives tighter. It wasn't unheard of for the Boss to take his bad mood out of anyone who happened to be nearby.

He took several deep breaths, obviously attempting to calm himself down. I relaxed as well. If he was taking such measure to sooth his anger, then I probably wouldn't end up headless anytime soon.

The Boss was a big man; very muscularly built. He was taller than me by about three feet, which actually wasn't hard considering I didn't even measure five feet myself. He was fairly older than my two centuries, but it didn't show. He could easily still be carded in a bar. I wouldn't call him handsome unless it was referring to the dangerous kind of way. He had a strong chin, exotically tan skin, black hair that was slicked back professionally, and eyes as dark as his hair; eyes that never betrayed any emotion.

"Well, Zen," he said in his deep booming voice, and I straightened up in my chair. "I've got an important mission, and this is your chance to prove yourself."

"Thank you, sir," I said quietly. I'd proved myself time and time again; he just didn't care enough to notice.

"Here it is," he said, handing me a portfolio. I cracked it open, looking at the picture and profile of my next target. A small vial of clotted red liquid also slipped out, and I picked it up. I took the stopper out, taking a big sniff of the blood inside. It smelled of stone, as well as fire and just a hint of beer. A strange combination. I turned back to the papers. While I studied the information, the Boss told me the details.

"He's the Spirit Detective of the Spirit World, Yusuke Urameshi. He's human, although there are rumors that a distant ancestor of his was the great Raizen himself - although we do not know if this is true. He mainly fights unarmed, with the Spirit Gun as his trump card. He's very dangerous, although evidence claims he isn't known for using all of his brain most of the time. He's taken out a great many of my allies, and I want him stopped."

The profile listed Tokyo as his place of residence. If he was as powerful as the Boss was making him sound, then it wouldn't be hard to find him in the vast city. I got swiftly to my feet, snapping the portfolio shut and tucking it under my arm.

"Consider it done," I said softly, turning without another word and exiting from the Boss's elegant office. There was no way I was going to mess this opportunity up.

I tucked a few loose strands of my long black hair back into my braid, restlessly watching the school building. My senses told me the detective was in there somewhere, but I preferred not to draw attention to myself by attacking him right in the middle of class. I was actually surprised he was young enough to still be in school when his aura was large enough to surround the whole building. It sent a shiver of excitement up my spine.

I watched as the detective exited the school before the final bell even rang. I was glad to see that he was alone.

Or was he? As I watched, an unnatural shadow darted from between the shade of the trees, stalking Urameshi. My eyes narrowed. It literally _was_ a shadow - one that I knew well.

Tane, one of the apprentice assassins from the Requiem. Apprentices never got assignments outside of Demon World. What was he doing here?

More so, what was he doing _here_, stalking _my _target? I stifled a growl of rage. If he touched so much as a hair on the detective's head, there would be hell to pay.

But I couldn't do anything at the moment. Stopping Tane would mean that I would expose myself to Urameshi. Later tonight, when Urameshi let his guard down, I would confront the shadow demon.

I clenched one of my fists into a ball. I couldn't wait.

For all his power, the detective wasn't rich. He lived in a small, fairly cheap condo with his mother, from what I could tell. It certainly wouldn't be difficult to sneak in and rip the detective's throat out while he slept. Not the most honorable thing, but in the murder business, honor was a rare thing to come by. And too often it got someone killed. But, that would have to wait. Right now I had more important things to attend to.

I hadn't seen Tane for a while. But in the darkness of the night, it was too easy for him to hide. And Urameshi's power was sufficient enough to cover up any hint of Tane's.

I felt it the moment the detective fell asleep. His immense field of aura retracted in order to protect his sleeping body - something human energy did naturally. At the same time, I noticed the presence of _two_ demonic auras. Obviously one belonged to Tane - the weaker one - but what about the other one? The one that was nearly as strong as the detective's?

Emotions battled through me: desire to kick Tane's ass, duty to my mission, and lastly curiosity to find out who this unknown demon was. Curiosity won out.

I dropped from the tree I had been perched in, silently landing on the grass below. My bare feet made no sound as I crept closer to the demonic aura. I was so concentrated on the demon that I didn't even notice Tane's aura steadily drawing closer to it as well.

I melted into some bushes fairly close to the demon. I could see him from where I was, but not well enough to know if I knew him. Attempting to get any closer would be taking quite a risk, but I'd never been one to back down from a challenge. I silently moved around the bushes.

And that was when it happened. About ten feet away from both the demon and I, a spark of power flared. My heart nearly stopped beating when I saw Tane, bolding firing a glob of shadow at the demon.

I swore viciously under my breath, simultaneously charging forward. What an idiot! Tane knew full and well that the number one rule of the Requiem was to never harm innocents!

I shoved the demon roughly to the side. He fell, skidding a fair few feet. I threw up my hand, raising a dreadfully strong energy shield just in time. The shadow ball hit it, spreading out so that my formally white shield turned an inky black. It cracked, falling to the ground in a million dark pieces.

"TANE!" I roared in anger as the shield slowly melted into nothing.

Probably having a faint idea what I would do to him if I caught him, Tane dissolved into a shadow, speeding away across the night sky. I swore again, mentally promising myself to deprive him of his manhood the next time I saw him.

I turned to the demon who was getting back to his feet, beating dirt off his long black cloak. He was standing under a streetlight now, and my silver eyes widened in shock when I saw who it was. A second later, my face cracked into a large grin.

"Well, if it isn't the infamous Hiei!" I said brightly, pointedly ignoring the angry glare he sent my way. "Been a long time, old friend."

"I've never used the word 'friend' in reference to you, Zen," Hiei said coldly. "Usually more fitting terms spring to mind, such as 'annoying,' 'anal retentive,' and 'a bitc-'"

"It's good to see you too," I interrupted, just a little icily. "I'd have something I'd prefer to direct your attention to, however."

Hiei's blood-red eyes narrowed. He was still suspicious of me. And probably had good reason to, considering I'd tried to kill him last time we'd met.

"That was a shadow projectile," I continued, undeterred. "We all know that no matter how weak it was, shadow is very well able to kill any other elemental demon, such as fire demons…"

"Where are you going with this, Zen?" Hiei snapped impatiently. I grinned mischievously.

"Well, you know what happens now…If a demon saves another demon's life, the second is in the first's debt until he can compensate her. It's an ancient demon law." I laughed lightly. "And it seems I just saved your life."

"Given that you've tried to take it in the past, I'm not sure that counts for much," Hiei hissed.

I shrugged casually. "Doesn't matter. I still saved your life."

Hiei's upper lip curled, exposing small fangs. "Then how about I let you leave here with your head still intact? Would that count as suitable payback?"

I growled quietly, deep in my throat. "I'm much faster than you, Hiei. You know that. I can be out of Tokyo and halfway to Fiji before you could do anything to me. And then you'd still be in my debt."

Hiei snarled angrily, turning away. I hid my smile of satisfaction, determined not to piss him off further. We both knew I had won the argument.

Hiei whirled around suddenly, grabbing my wrist. I sensed no true malice in this sudden attack, and didn't even attempt to fight back. I merely stared at him.

"Come on," he hissed, his face only inches from mine. "I've got a friend I'd like you to meet."

* * *

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked this! Zen is one of my favorite characters that I'd created, so I really enjoyed writing this story. Please be civil in your reviewing!


	2. Chapter 2

In all the business with Hiei and Tane, I'd completely forgotten the whole reason why I was in Tokyo in the first place. Something that was brought roughly back into my mind as Hiei pulled me into the apartment complex, right up to the detective's condo door. I hissed through my teeth, fear trailing slowly into my veins. What was Hiei planning on doing?

I found out a second later as Hiei began to pound on the door, no doubt waking up everyone inside.

"Yusuke!" He bellowed. "Get up!"

I felt the power surge, meaning that Hiei had successfully woken the detective up. Snarling, I attempted to free my wrist from Hiei's grasp. A futile effort, as I soon found out.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at the fire demon. "Let me go!"

"No," Hiei replied calmly. "_You're _the one who bound yourself to me with this ridiculous debt. Now you have to suffer the consequences."

Consequences…I didn't like the way he said that. I began to reach for my daggers hidden in my boots, but then the door opened.

"Hiei, what the _hell_?!" The detective demanded angrily. He was still groggy, rubbing his eyes with his hair sticking up everywhere. He certainly didn't look like a demon killer.

Hiei jerked me forward, causing me to also smack right into Urameshi. I stepped on the brakes at the last minute, halting myself mere inches away. The detective eyed me curiously.

"She's a demonic assassin," Hiei explained. "Probably sent here to do you in. Do you think you could get Botan to take her to see Koenma?"

_Koenma_?! The prince of the Spirit World? No _way_ was I going to see him! He'd probably lock me up in the Spirit World prison in a human heartbeat. I redoubled my efforts to get free, biting and kicking at Hiei. He acted like he was ignoring me, but his hand tightened around my wrist warningly.

Urameshi frowned. "You're not giving me a choice are you? Well could you at least make her a little bit less…bitey before I take her?"

Hiei grinned wickedly. "My pleasure." He turned back to me, raising his left hand. I closed my eyes, knowing exactly what was coming next.

The sharp blow to the side of my head brought the darkness instantly, and I collapsed.

**************

I blinked once…twice…coming back into consciousness slowly. My head was pounding, thanks to Hiei's vicious blow. Anger seethed beneath my slight haziness, and I swore to get Hiei back for this. But…One look around where I was told me that wouldn't be possible anytime soon.

I was in a jail cell.

I swore loudly, smacking my fists against the stone floor in anger. Something on my wrists jingled, and I held them up to catch the dim light.

Two shimmery silver bracelets were locked around my wrists, like handcuffs, except that they weren't chained together. But they shackled me in even worse ways.

They were binding manacles, ones that prevented any demon unlucky enough to be caught in them to be completely unable to summon a droplet of power. With them on, I was just about as useless as a comatose human.

Not to mention, my black leather clothes were gone, and had been replaced with a plain white cotton gown, of all things.

I got to my feet in a rage, lashing out fruitlessly at the heavy metal bars that surrounded me. There was no escape - not even a toilet. I was stuck here, probably until I finally rotted away. I began to yell every one of the foulest demonic curse words I knew.

"Keep it down!" A squeaky voice demanded. I trailed off, glancing down to where I had heard the voice. A small child was standing in front of my cell door, dressed in a ridiculously large blue and pink hat with a matching outfit. I paused, feeling the strange urge to laugh.

"Did you lose your mommy, kid?" I asked lazily.

The toddler frowned. "Don't be rude! I am Lord Koenma!"

This time I really did burst into laughter.

"Oh, this is rich!" I gasped. "The guy that's got every demon out there fearing for their freedom isn't even out of diapers?! I can't believe it!"

Koenma really didn't look happy now. "Watch your mouth, or I will reconsider my decision to release you."

My laughter died instantly. "Excuse me?"

Koenma importantly drew himself up to the extent of his rather measly height. "You heard me. I plan to let you go. With some conditions, of course."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. There was _always_ a catch. "And they are?"

"You will be confined to the Tokyo area. You will not be allowed to set one foot outside the set perimeter around the city. You will not be allowed to harm a single person, human or demon. And lastly, you will check in with any one of my four detectives daily."

"Four?" I said, doing my best to ignore the rest of his outrageous stipulations. "I thought you only had one. Urameshi."

"He's the only official one. I have three others who work with him frequently. I believe you've already met another of them, Hiei."

I hissed. "You're _got_ to be kidding me. Not only are you confining me to remain in one mere city, but you are also condemning me to interact regularly with Hiei? Why not just send me to hell and be done with it?"

Koenma cracked a small, sardonic smile. "As much as I would like to, my sense of morals won out in the end. There's no reason to kill you, nor to keep you here. I'd prefer to just send you to Tokyo where Yusuke and the others can keep watch over you."

I wondered how much Yusuke would like me when he found out that I had been trying to kill him before I had gotten caught.

"In the meantime, try to behave yourself. If you don't, then you'll wind up back here without any chance of parole."

"Fine," I groaned, wondering what I had gotten myself in to.

"Great," Koenma said brightly. "Now, someone's here to take you back. We shouldn't keep him waiting."

I stifled another groan. Somehow, I knew exactly who it was going to be…

**************

Just as I thought, Hiei was waiting in Koenma's office when we got there. I bit back another groan, swallowed the insulting comments that sprang to mind, and did my best to regard him with cold indifference. He, however, looked furious that he'd been assigned the job of escorting me home.

"One question, Koenma," I said to distract myself from the (almost literally) smoldering fire demon. "As you're aware, I have a job. And the Requiem doesn't take deserters lightly. If they think I've made a run for it, they'll probably send others to hunt me down, at the very least. What are you planning on doing about that?"

"We'll take care of that when it happens," Koenma said calmly. "Until then, I'm sure you'll have plenty of other things to worry about."

As I glanced at Hiei - still glaring at me like he wished to set me on fire - I had no doubt about that.

Hiei walked swiftly past me out the door. "Come on," he called back to me. "Let's get this over with."

"Oh joy," I said sarcastically as I trotted out after him.

"Have fun!" Koenma yelled at me. I resisted the urge to flip him off.


	3. Chapter 3

"What's the Requiem?" Hiei asked nonchalantly when we were out of earshot of Koenma's office. I was a bit surprised to answer right away. I had thought he would do everything in his power to avoid talking to me at all. I quickly composed a rude reply.

"You're kidding!" I gasped. "You're a demon and you don't know?" Considering his glare, I knew I'd succeeded in aggravating him. I bit back a smile and continued. "It's an organization made up entirely of demonic assassins. We're the most proficient killers in all three worlds." I couldn't help but say that last bit with a little pride. It was rather hard to be accepted into the Requiem.

"What did you do there?" Even though he was trying to act as casual as possible, I could still detect a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice. I momentarily thought about not answering and letting him wallow in his burning curiosity, but my desire to show off a little won out.

"I'm an assassin, of course! One of the best. I'm a tracker demon, did you know?" From Hiei's surprised expression, he apparently had not know. "That's part of the reason why I'm so good at what I do. It's never too hard for me to find my target, and my speed and stealth are top notch."

"Not to mention your annoying bag of tricks."

I smiled slightly. "Every demon has its own _modus operandi_ when it comes to murder," I said. "Mine just happened to be stealing one power from each demon that I ever killed."

"Not that I'm one to talk about honor, but that's really disgraceful." Hiei said. I laughed.

"Sometimes it's just what you have to do in order to survive."

Hiei fell silent, and I thought he was probably thinking about all that I'd said. I didn't attempt to engage him in conversation again, at least not until we managed to successfully teleport back to the human world. It was dark, meaning I'd been in the Spirit World for at least a day. Hiei continued to walk alongside a row of building, and I had no idea where he was going. Or, where I was going to go.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" I moaned to myself. "I have no where to live!"

Hiei shrugged. "Kill someone and take over their place." His tone was such that I couldn't tell whether he was joking or not.

"You do know that I'm not allowed to kill humans, don't you?" I asked warily. Hiei turned to me, angry fire blazing in his eyes. I automatically took a step back.

"You can just pretend that one of them is a target, like you've done before."

"Oh, for hell's sake!" I gasped, finally understanding. "That was fifty years ago! And I already told you it was a mistake. I didn't have a picture of my real target, and the only information I got was 'short, black hair, red eyes.' How was I to know that that profile belonged to more than one demon?!"

Hiei whirled around, and I flinched. But all he did was smack his hands on the brick wall on either side of me, effectively trapping me. I could feel his hot breath on my face.

"Forgive me for being a little upset that you tried to kill me," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Well, obviously I didn't succeed. I don't see what you're so angry about. No harm, no foul, right?" I gritted my teeth as the memories of the aftermath I'd worked so hard to repress surfaced again. "Anyways, I got heavily reprimanded after."

Hiei laughed humorlessly. "I think a whipping is considered more than just a mere 'reprimand.'"

I jerked my head up so that I was looking into his eyes. "How did you know?" I said, my voice barely audible.

Hiei backed away from me, letting his hands drop. "You didn't think Koenma was the one who put you in that unflattering gown, did you?"

I gasped in horror. "You're kidding!" I yelped, feeling oddly self-conscious.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch." Hiei said. "Not that you're wearing any at the moment, though. Anyways, you don't have enough curves to make any difference. I might have been undressing a prepubescent boy for all it mattered."

My jaw dropped, fury roaring through me like a hurricane. Unfortunately, I could not think of a good enough comeback other than to gape at him like a fish out of water. Hiei seemed to be enjoying my reaction. I could just imagine what he was thinking: _Hiei: 1, Zen: 0_.

"I'm assuming you know where Yusuke lives?" Hiei said coldly, "Seeing how you were there the other night."

I tensed, knowing the words that hung after the rest of that sentence. _Seeing how you were there the other night, attempting to kill him._

"I can't help who I am." I said quietly.

"No." Hiei replied. "But that's not who you are. It's what you do. And you _can _help it. Meaning of the word 'redemption.'"

I scoffed. "What do _you _know about redemption?" I almost immediately regretted by harsh words.

"You'd be surprised." Hiei said calmly, seeming not to care about what I had said. "You've never fought for the sake of someone else, have you? You're cold, heartless, and utterly selfish. You'll never know what it's like."

I jerked back like I had been physically stung by his words. But I couldn't think of a thing to say in my defense. He was right. Every single word.

Hiei frowned back at me, not noticing the effect his words had on me.

"I-I'll find somewhere to live." I choked out, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady. Hiei's frown deepened, like he had finally figured out something was wrong.

"What?" He said. "Hey! Wait! Zen!" I turned and sprinted off, too fast for him to catch me. I didn't even look back.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up with the sun shining brightly in my face, the chirping of the birds greeting me. I yawned widely, getting to my feet. I wasn't exactly sure where I was, only that it was as far as I could go. The previous night, I'd ran and ran until I felt that a strange tugging trying to pull me back to the city. No doubt it was some sort of enchantment Koenma had placed on me, to make sure I didn't try to escape. It probably would be immensely painful if I stepped past the bounds.

The white gown I was wearing could no longer be called white on account that I had slept on the ground. I figured it was a good time to visit one of these detectives. Maybe they'd have some clothes I could borrow.

Since Yusuke was the only one that I knew where he lived, I began to head to where his powerful aura was lingering, barely hidden.

It was hard to get there without running into anyone. How could one city, even one as big as Tokyo, host so many humans?! I was forced to rely on every ounce of stealth and speed I possessed.

"What are you doing here?" A quiet voice behind me asked. I froze. I hadn't been able to sense any aura nearby, human or otherwise. How had anyone managed to sneak up on me?

I turned slowly, every nerve in my body humming.

The person behind me didn't look too dangerous. He (I'm fairly sure it was a he) was tall and slender, with pale skin and long blazing red hair. He had deep green eyes that seemed to sear through the distance between us. All in all, he was very handsome. And yet, I could feel a sense of lethality filling the air around us. Like he wouldn't hesitate to rip my head off if I answered wrong.

"Who are you?" I asked, covertly reaching down to slide a knife from the special sheath the lined the inside of my leather boots.

The redhead stepped forward, his threat now echoing through his aura. He was a demon! Surely Koenma wouldn't be angry for me for killing a demon that was trying to hurt me?

"I do believe I'm the one asking the questions," He said softly. I frowned. He certainly seemed more than used to having his questions answered. There was something strange about him.

"Hang on," I hissed. "You're not-"

"Zen, don't!" Another voice, one I recognized very well and innately annoyed me called. With a small snarl, I stepped back, away from the redhead. Hiei jumped down from the roof of the building by us, landing right in front of me.

"Hiei," the redhead said, confirming my suspicions. "Do you know her?"

"Koenma told us about her, don't you remember?" Hiei replied, not taking his eyes off of me. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

The redhead's emerald eyes widened. "The assassin?"

"Unfortunately." Hiei sneered. I bit my bottom lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

I turned and began to walk again, although now I didn't know where I was going to go. Showing up at Yusuke's seemed kind of pointless now.

"Where are you going?" Hiei demanded. I called back over my shoulder, although I didn't stop walking.

"I assume this little run-in counts as me checking in for the day," I said casually. "There's no need for me to stick around." I gasped as I turned my head back, and Hiei appeared right in front of me.

"Actually, there's all the need," Hiei said dangerously, his eyes skimming up and down my body. "You can't tell me you plan on walking through the city dressed like that?"

I glared at him with as much hatred as possible. "If you recall, it's _your_ fault that I got deprived of my other clothes."

Behind us, the redhead coughed awkwardly. Both Hiei and I ignored him.

"Believe me, going around in that leather getup would have attracted far more unwelcome attention." Hiei assured me.

I scoffed. "I've already got all the unwanted attention I could ever possibly desire," I said pointedly at him. Hiei opened up his mouth for an angry reply when the redhead stepped between us.

"Children!" He said. Hiei and I shut up, although both of us sent seething glares at each other around him.

"We'll tell Koenma you're still behaving yourself," the redhead said to me, obviously acting the part of mediator. "Hiei, you behave _yourself_."

Hiei growled quietly, but backed off. I was beginning to like this redhead. I instead stepped closer to him, standing on the tips of my toes so I could bring my face close to his neck.

"Uhhh…" Said the redhead, clearly alarmed. I took a great whiff of his neck, and the scent of roses filled my nose. I took another sniff, feeling dizzy. I had smelled that exact same scent on another demon a few years back…

A hand latched itself around my upper arm, yanking me back from the redhead.

"_What are you doing_?" Hiei seethed, fury making his touch red-hot. I jerked my arm away from him, unable to take my eyes off the redhead.

"You can't be," I gasped quietly.

"I can't be what?" He said uneasily.

"Yoko Kurama!" I laughed. "I heard you died, years ago!"

Kurama frowned. "Technically, I did. Long story."

"It's an honor," I said, bowing politely. Rarely did one get the chance to meet a demon as infamous as Yoko Kurama himself.

"And you needed to smell him to figure that out?" Hiei snapped, still foul-tempered. I frowned.

"It's how my tracking ability works. I need to smell someone's blood, even if it hasn't been exposed yet. Once I smell something, I can track it across any of the three worlds. But only if I'm deliberately trying to find it. Otherwise I can't detect the scent."

"Why would you need to track me?" Kurama asked warily.

I grinned. "Because, I'd much rather check in with _you _daily."

Kurama coughed awkwardly again. Hiei looked livid. I inwardly laughed.

"Anyways, unless you plan on finding me some new duds, then I honestly don't have any reason to be here." I was in a much better mood now.

"Some of my mother's old clothes would probably fit you," Kurama offered. I blinked.

"I had no idea you had a mother. Not to mention, last time I saw you, you were a lot…more foxy that this."

I wasn't sure if Kurama was appreciating my flirting. "I already told you I died. But then I possessed a human woman's unborn baby, until I could regain my powers. That's it." He said.

"Ah." I replied. I had a feeling that there was more to the story than he was letting on, but it wasn't my nature to press. Approximately one hundred and ninety-seven years with the Requiem had taught me that. But who's counting?

"I'll take her to my house," Kurama said quietly to Hiei. "She'll be safe with me."

"It's not her I'm worried about," Hiei murmured. I smiled to myself.

"Come on," Kurama said to me. "Let's get going."


	5. Chapter 5

Kurama was much taller than me, but it wasn't difficult to keep up with his long strides.

"Are you really okay with it?" Kurama asked me quietly. I frowned.

"With what?" If he was referring to the situation, I was dealing.

"With Hiei treating you like the scum of Demon World."

I slowed my pace a little, forcing Kurama to wait for me. "Well, it's…true, isn't it? At least to him. It's better than him lying to me."

Kurama shrugged, looking far from convinced. "If you think so."

I sniffed indifferently. "I've been through worse."

"As Hiei tells me, considering the scars on your back."

I stiffened. "Did he shout that through the city with a bullhorn or something?"

Kurama laughed lightly. "No. Why are you so eager to keep them hidden? They're a part of you."

"I don't have to like every part of myself. They're a reminder of times I would rather forget." I growled softly. "And he's not making it any easier."

Kurama did reply, and I had a feeling that was because he didn't know what to say. We walked in silence the rest of the way to his house.

"Mother?" Kurama called, opening the door to the average, two-story house. No one answered. I peeked in behind him.

"Looks like she's not home," Kurama said, opening the door wider for me. I stepped past him, wrinkling my nose at the scent of the house. It smelled so…homey. It wasn't a scent I was used to.

Kurama led me through the house up a ladder to the attic. It was dusty, and instantly made me sneeze. Kurama popped open an old cardboard box, sending more spouts of dust in the air. I stepped back.

"Here," Kurama said pulling a green dress that matched his eyes from the box. "They're a little old-fashioned, but…"

"I'll say!" I scoffed, taking the green dress from him. The high neckline was completely unflattering, and the bulky skirt would make it difficult to move. I set the dress down and began to rifle through all the rest of the clothes in the box. They were all modest with too much cloth.

"Sorry," Kurama laughed. "My mother may not be considered fashionable these days."

"Hmmm." I said. I spread out the first dress again, examining it from every angle. "Would it be too much to ask for a needle, thread, and a pair of scissors?"

"Of course not," Kurama said. "But why…?"

I sniffed. "I consider myself fairly adept at certain wifely chores. Well, only sewing. Give me a frying pan and a stove, and I'm useless."

Kurama allowed himself a smile. "I'll be right back." I held the dress away from me when I sneezed again. "Er…Maybe you should go in my room and wait…"

I stuffed the dress back into the box, picking it up and following Kurama back down the ladder. I couldn't deny an intense curiosity to see what the legendary fox thief's bedroom looked like…

And as it turned out, I shouldn't have gotten so excited. It was boring. Nothing but a desk, a full bookshelf, and a bed. I sighed in disappointment. Not even a single mystical item!

I settled myself on the floor, sorting through my box of clothes. Kurama disappeared back through the door to fetch me my items I requested. Already patterns and cuts were running through my mind. Soon, I would have quite the enviable wardrobe…

I spent the majority of every day at Kurama's while I altered the clothes. Even though he was at his university for most of the day, I greatly enjoyed his company when he came back home. Perhaps this confinement wasn't going to be as bad as I had first thought.

When night fell, I would say good night and slip out his window, wandering away to find somewhere to sleep for the night. It was all becoming fairly routine.

Which bored the hell out of me.

I longed for adventure, for freedom, and for a little bit of bloodshed every once and a while. But Koenma had successfully deprived me of all of that.

I took one Friday off of my sewing task, choosing instead to wander around in my redesigned green dress. The skirt was considerably shorter, with only one layer of cloth. It was sleeveless now, with a v-neck and a lacy midriff. Several of the humans stopped and stared at me in a very flattering way, but I ignored them. I had absolutely no interest in human males.

"Looking for a bit of fun?" A voice asked. A thought instantly sprang to my mind: _pervert._ I spun, fully intending to smack the crap out of the lecher, only to find a bemused Hiei staring at me.

"Hiei!" I gasped, dropping my hand. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Hiei replied, walking slowly towards me. I stiffened, not wanting to show any emotion that could be interpreted at weakness.

"I needed to get out," I said coldly. "What's it to you?"

Hiei didn't reply. He continued to stare at me. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Maybe it's not…" I began before stopping abruptly. "Ow."

Hiei frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

"I…Ow!" I gasped, pressing my hands against the shooting pain in my head. The pain rose to a crescendo, and I shrieked, throwing myself back. I fell to the ground, writhing, trying to free myself from the agony. But it wouldn't stop! Someone…Someone was ripping apart my skull, pouring gallons of hot lava in, occasionally stabbing me through my temples with a hot poker. Oh hell…

And then it was gone. I blinked, slowly bringing my hands down. I was lying with my back on the cold cement sidewalk, the sun blazing in my eyes and a crowd gathered around me. Hiei was bending over me, something that wasn't quite concern touching his features.

"What's wrong?" He hissed, trying to make sure the crowd of humans couldn't hear. I shook my head, shakily accepting his help to get back to my feet. I felt weak and shivery, like I had come down with a fever.

"Get me out of here," I begged quietly. Hiei nodded curtly, taking my shoulder and guiding me through the crowd. They parted nervously, some asking whether I needed an ambulance. I continued to shake my head, dimly aware of Hiei saying I had had a seizure, and that I had them all the time. I couldn't concentrate. I didn't know where Hiei was taking me, or how far we had walked…All I knew was that his arm was around my shoulders, and I was somehow putting one foot in front of the other. My head was still aching dully, but it was nothing to drown out the horrible fear overwhelming me…

Hiei finally helped me sit down on a stone bench, and I slowly came back into the present. I was in a beautiful garden near a small, old-fashioned temple. I blinked. Hiei was crouched right in front of me.

"What happened?" He asked urgently. I briefly experienced surprise that he cared what the matter was with me before reminding myself that it was probably because he needed to know if there was any danger to anyone else.

I swallowed a few times, finding my mouth incredibly dry. "It's the Boss." I said.

"The Boss?" Hiei clearly didn't understand.

"The Boss. He's the head of the Requiem." I found my voice getting stronger as I spoke. "Umm…Every assassin in the Requiem has a psychic connection with him. One that he can utilize whenever he wishes. And…Well, that's what he did. He put me in agony to show how angry he is that I've gotten myself in the situation I'm in."

Hiei growled, low in his throat. "He did that to you?"

"Yeah," I said, returning to my usual stoicism. "He likes pain. It's not something I'm unaccustomed to."

Hiei didn't say anything, and I have to admit, I was growing tired of his frequent silences. I relaxed on the bench, lying down on my back. I stared up at the sky, watching birds dance around in the air. I frowned when I heard soft footsteps approaching, and slowly sat back up.

A girl was running across the garden towards us, a lovely vision of innocence. She had oddly colored blue hair, with a blue kimono that clashed. She was small and delicate, and as she drew closer, I noticed she had blood-red eyes, just like Hiei. A short elderly woman was following her, but at a much slower pace.

"Mr Hiei!" The young girl called, her voice as sweet as her appearance. "Is anything the matter?"

Hiei glanced at me, hesitating. "Not…really. Does there need to be something wrong for me to visit?"

"Yes," said the older woman, her voice thick with sarcasm and cynicism. I knew already that I was going to like her immensely.

Hiei's brow furrowed in annoyance and he moved back so that both the females could see me. I smiled a little timidly.

"I'm Zen," I said. The old lady's eyes widened at my name. Apparently she knew who I was, so she must be an acquaintance of Koenma and the detectives. The young girl didn't recognize my name, however. She bowed politely.

"I'm Yukina. It's nice to meet you."

"Genkai." The old woman said, and it was my turn to be surprised. There was only one woman who had that name. And she just happened to be a fierce demon slayer, feared all throughout the demon plane. I nervously leaned back a little.

"There's a guy that's been psychically hurting her," Hiei explained quickly, and I noticed he seemed a bit anxious around Yukina. I wondered what could make Hiei nervous.

Yukina walked up to me, putting both her hands on either side of my head. I flinched, but didn't move. I felt her begin to emit energy from her hands, but I couldn't figure out what she was doing. Finally, she dropped her hands.

"There's no damage, physical or otherwise," she said softly, sounding disappointed. I raised one of my eyebrows, but didn't comment. Before she could back away from me, I seized her wrist. She flinched, and Hiei took an angry step forward. But all I did was sniff her wrist where the blood from her artery flowed the strongest.

She smelled of purity, like country air or newly fallen snow. Which wasn't surprising, considering she was an ice demon of some sort. I couldn't tell exactly what.

But the most shocking thing about her was that she shared the same blood as Hiei. Different scent, but it was still the same. She had to be his sister. But apparently she didn't know that.

I let go of her wrist, and tried to smile reassuringly at her, although I was bursting with questions I wanted to ask Hiei.

"Sorry," I said. "But I was curious."

"Zen's a tracker demon," Hiei said, sounding murderous. "She uses her power through her sense of smell." He was glaring at me, and I smiled innocently back. Yukina too smiled, although she didn't look comfortable.

"Oh, I…I see." She said, and I did feel sorry I had frightened her. But I think it had been worth it.

I stood up swiftly, causing Yukina to jump back. "Well," I said briskly. "Since there's nothing you can do for me, I suppose we should be going. Right, Hiei?" I directed those last two words at Hiei with more than a little warning. Grumbling, Hiei agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

I was nearly dancing for joy at learning Hiei's secret that I could barely contain myself. As soon as I was certain we were out of earshot of the two women, I didn't bother with restraint.

"Why haven't you told the girl?" I burst out excitedly. Hiei's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Why haven't I told who what?" He said carefully. I tapped my foot in impatience.

"Yukina. That you're her brother."

Hiei gritted his teeth, and he seized my wrist with a hell of a lot more aggression than I had used on Yukina. "Don't you _dare_ tell her."

"Like I would," I said icily. "That's _your_ secret to tell, and I'm not a rat. I just want to know why you won't."

Hiei dropped my wrist, and I rubbed it, trying to prevent the bruises that were certain to spring up.

"She doesn't need to know. She's happier the way she is, pretending her brother is some sort of hero."

I snorted. "You're rather dense, aren't you?"

Hiei snarled at me, but I ignored him, walking in the direction of the city.

"From what I could tell, you're all she's got now. The only living blood connection directly related to her. What girl wouldn't want to know who her family is?" I didn't know how much I was relating the question to myself before Hiei spoke quietly.

"Don't you know yours?"

I laughed bitterly. "Of course not. You don't end up in the Requiem if you have a loving family. Or even a semi-loving one. I was abandoned before I was even a year old. A member of the Requiem - Ela - found me, brought me to the Requiem, then raised me." I lowered my eyes to the ground sadly. "She died when I was thirteen."

"Thirteen? That was around two centuries ago. I would think you'd be over it by now." Hiei said rudely. I shot him a furious glare.

"You accused me of being heartless once. I assure you, I haven't always been." I was on the point of stomping angrily away from him when his words stopped me once again.

"I would have liked to have seen you back then."

I froze, my heart starting to beat a lot faster than normal. I turned slowly to face him.

"I…" I began, not really sure what to say. As it was, I didn't need to worry for long, as in that instant, a very long wooden arrow went straight through my body from behind.

I stared down at it in surprise, watching rivers of blood trickle down the shaft to drip off the end into a pool at my feet. I couldn't feel my legs anymore, and the next instant I was collapsing.

I had no idea whether I hit the ground or if Hiei caught me. But I had the strangest urge to wish for the latter as darkness claimed me.

I woke up, feeling oddly alert. I could smell Yukina, Hiei, Yusuke and Kurama standing nearby, along with a few other people whose scents I didn't know. I didn't move a muscle, staying completely still while I listened to them talk.

"It's dangerous having her around," Hiei muttered angrily. I winced slightly at his harsh words.

"It's not her fault, Hiei." Kurama said soothingly. I felt a surge of affection for him.

"I can't heal her," Yukina whispered. She sounded close to tears.

"I can't see how this _isn't_ her fault, fox." Hiei snarled, seemingly ignoring Yukina's concern.

"She probably didn't chose to be shot with an arrow, if that's any help," a voice I didn't recognize suggested. Hiei grumbled something that sounded highly uncomplimentary.

"Boys, enough." Old Genkai wheezed. "It's simple. Koenma has placed her here under our protection, and we're going to protect her."

"From her own organization," Yusuke said grimly. "Whatever. These Requiem guys sound tough. I'm looking forward to a good fight."

"You moron," Hiei snapped. "These demons are masters of secrecy and stealth. Both of which you are very much lacking. They'll easily kill you."

"Demons can sense them easier than Yusuke, Genkai, or Kuwabara could," Kurama said softly, cutting off Yusuke's angry retort. "I suggest that in the time being, the three of you are always in the presence of the four of us."

"I'll stay with Yukina!" That voice I didn't know offered immediately. Hiei growled, but didn't react.

"I suppose I'll stay with you, if you don't mind, Genkai," Kurama said. The old woman gave a noise of consent.

"Guess that leaves me and you, three-eyes!" Yusuke said jovially. And if the rustling of clothes was any indication, I assumed he was attempting to friendly assault Hiei. And Hiei did not appreciate that.

"Get _off_, detective!"

I opened my eyes and sat up silently. My wound twinged, and I pressed one hand to it. It hurt like a bitch, but it wasn't serious. I could heal it in a matter of a week. What was the real problem was the poison. And Requiem specialty that would take months to get out of my system.

"Looks like the hunter has become the hunted." I remarked softly, catching the attention of the six others in the room, two of whom were still bickering. I glanced up at them. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you," I said to Yukina and Genkai, as I seemed to be in the temple.

"It's no problem," Yukina said kindly, and I gave her a weak smile. "Are you alright?"

"Yes…and no." I replied. "I _will_ be fine. But right now, I'm not so sure."

"The injury isn't that bad," Hiei said uncaring. If I had felt stronger, I would have snapped back.

"It's the poison that I assume you didn't notice. That's why _you_ can't heal me," I said to Yukina, "and why I don't have the strength to stand."

"Poison?" Hiei asked, sounding a little worried for once.

"Yes, poison. A mixture of holy water and aconitine. A perfect human and demon killer."

"Then why aren't you dead?" Hiei asked with his usual bluntness.

"Hiei!" Kurama scolded. I closed my eyes, already feeling exhausted just from talking.

"It's standard protocol to train one's body to gain a certain resistance to holy objects when one is inducted into the Requiem."

"How do you do that?" Yukina asked, her voice full of horror. I gave her a grim smile.

"There's only one way. Be tortured with holy objects until one's body can endure them." I mustered up the strength to give Hiei a glare. "No doubt you already had some inkling of that, as you took my cross back with the rest of my clothes."

"Cross?" Kurama asked in confusion.

"She was wearing a Christian cross on a necklace around her neck when I brought her in to Koenma. I didn't know what it was for, though." Hiei clarified, not taking his eyes off of me.

"If I was still wearing that, then the holy water might not have affected me that badly. So you see, it's not _all_ my fault."

"And maybe if you-" Hiei snapped angrily.

"Enough!" Genkai yelled. Both of us shut up at once. "Act like your age for once, and let's see what we can do to help Zen."

"There _is _no helping," I said softly. "Like I said, I have to wait it off."

"You might not have to." Genkai wheezed. "I think there is something I can do. But it won't be fun."

"Yippee-skip," I said sarcastically. "Well, get it over with."

"Lay back down."

I laid down on my back, closing my eyes and relaxing. I felt Genkai's small wrinkled hands press on my wound. I tried not to wince, but it wasn't nearly as bad as she had made it sound. I felt her begin to channel energy into me, and it was warm, and comforting, and-

"Ah!" I gasped, arching my back. Pure fire was searing through me, mixing with the holy water already in my veins. I squeezed my eyes tightly, writhing on the thing futon. I clenched my teeth together to stifle my cries of pain, but finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I began to scream.

I wasn't aware how long I squirmed in agony on the floor, but eventually, the fire began to cool, and I relaxed, panting.

"What…did you…do?" I gasped at Genkai, cold sweat running down my face.

"Separated the poison from your blood and drew it out of your body," she explained, indicating a small bowl that I hadn't noticed beside me. It was full of a slightly copper-tinged liquid that smelled purely acidic. I turned my head away.

"And as for you lot," Genkai said, glaring around the circle of people gathered around my bed, "don't you all have somewhere to be?"

"I am missing school," Kurama said guiltily. All the rest also muttered places they should be at the moment, and the room cleared. All except for Hiei and Genkai.

"Ah, wonderful." Genkai croaked. "You can watch over Zen, Hiei."

"I'm fine!" I protested, even though it was a lie. I was still too weak to get up. Hiei didn't complain, but he scowled heavily. Genkai strolled out the door into the garden, looking quite pleased with herself.

Hiei crossed the room, sitting with his back against the wall furthest from me. Not that I should care what he thought of me, but I still felt a little depressed.

"You know, maybe Genkai is right," I remarked, after the silence became oppressive.

"Hn," Hiei said, his interest clearly not engaged in what I was saying. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know…That we should bury the hatchet."

Hiei finally looked at me. "Is that really what you want?"

I sighed heavily. "Yes. I don't actually hate you, Hiei. I never have. I'm not the kind of person Yukina is, however. The type that can be so sweet to anyone. But I can certainly manage civility."

Hiei hesitated before answering. "I suppose I can too," He said, choosing his words carefully. "But I can't say whether I'll ever trust you, or even like you."

My heart squeezed painfully. "That was unnecessary."

Hiei shrugged, but didn't say anything else. I turned my head away from him, finding it too hard to keep my eyes open anymore.

I drifted easily into a deep sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

I jolted awake in a panic from a nightmare I didn't even remember.

It was pure dark in the temple, but I could see like it was high noon. I felt much stronger, but terribly hungry. I rested my eyes on a nearby figure. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Hiei was still here, but he had moved to the foot of my futon now. He was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. I wasn't even sure if he was sleeping.

I slipped out of the light blanket that had been placed over me, crawling silently across to Hiei. I reached out my hand, lightly pressing my fingers to his cheek.

I felt him move before I saw it. I attempted to jerk my hand back, but I was just barely not fast enough. He caught my fingers in his hand, yanking me towards him. I lost my balance, falling across his lap.

"Zen!" Hiei hissed angrily. "What are you doing? I thought I was being attacked!"

"S-sorry," I gasped, trying to push myself back up. Hiei moved swiftly, pushing me back and up against the wall. He crouched in front of me, and I shivered when I felt his warm touch on the wound in my stomach.

"Hiei, what..?" I asked quietly, all too aware of the intimacy of the situation.

"I could have accidentally opened your wound back up," he said softly. I blinked in surprise. Normally he would have blamed any opening of my wounds on me.

After a heart-pounding moment, he leaned back. I felt the cold rush in against my bandaged skin almost instantly.

"I think you're fine," he said.

"Not really," I replied as my stomach rumbled in protest.

He stilled. "What do you mean?"

I put a hand to my stomach. "I'm starving!" I whined.

Hiei blinked and then laughed loudly, the first genuine laugh I'd ever heard from him. It startled me so much I nearly forgot to breathe. Then I smiled.

"You should do that more often," I said lightly. Hiei's grin faded in confusion.

"Do what?"

"Smile. Laugh. Enjoy life."

Hiei's eyes darkened. "Easier said than done."

My heart gave a twinge of sympathy, and I was on the point of reaching out to touch him before I remembered that he hated me. I pulled back, hoping Hiei hadn't noticed.

He apparently hadn't. He was now immersed in his thoughts, probably about the horrible life he'd had. I sighed, leaning my head back against the wall.

But I had no desire to remain in the silence.

"Hiei, why do you hate me so much?" I asked quietly.

Hiei glanced up at me, staring in to my eyes. I swallowed nervously, but I didn't break the eye contact. Finally, he sighed, closing his eyes.

"I don't hate you. I just don't trust you, and that makes me not like you. It's a lot different than hate."

I scowled in irritation. "Will you ever trust me?"

The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. "I don't think there's a thing you could do to make me trust you."

A chill ran down my spine at the prospect of a challenge. "I beg to differ."

"Oh yeah? Good luck with that." He got to his feet, moving back across the room. He slid down against the wall, closing his eyes. With a smile, I settled back down on my futon, my hunger already forgotten, schemes and strategies running through my head. I had never wanted anyone to ever like me more than I now did with Hiei.

When I woke up the next day, the internal clock thing was tell me it was around noon. Hiei was gone, and I couldn't smell him anywhere close. But I still felt the buzz of my new challenge, mixed in with a strangely peaceful feeling. I got to my feet gingerly, and headed out in search of one of the team.

Kurama's rosy scent floated over to me across the expansive garden. With a smile I skipped over in his direction, stopping skipping once my arrow wound gave a painful twinge. I instead walked slowly, creeping up on the fox demon.

Kurama was standing at the edge of a small pond, seemingly lost in his thoughts. When I was about five feet away, he sighed. "It's useless, Zen. You can't sneak up on a bandit like me."

I scowled at his back, but gave up on my stealthy approach. "You're no fun. But I guess I should have known that wouldn't work, huh?" I walked up to stand at the edge of the pond, by his side. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have school?"

"It's Sunday. I don't have school on Sundays."

"What?" I gasped. "It can't be! I got shot on Friday, and-"

"You've been sleeping for two days."

"No way!" I knew the fox just _had_ to be pulling my leg. "I was shot, then I fell asleep. And when I woke up, you all were there, then Genkai asked Hiei to watch over me…I fell back asleep, woke up, and Hiei was still there. It can't have been more than one day."

"Genkai charged Hiei with that task Friday evening. And he kept to it very loyally. He didn't move from your side until this morning. This _Sunday _morning." Kurama seemed amused at my disbelief.

"There's no way Hiei would do that for me," I said forcefully. "He's not all that fond of me."

"Perhaps 'fondness' isn't the right word…But I do think he has a certain respect for you. Enough to see to it that you are alright after suffering a serious injury."

I shook my head, still unable to accept it. But a small spark of hope had flickered to life in my chest, and new ideas to make me win the bet flowed through my mind.

"At least that explains why I'm so hungry." I said at last.

Kurama laughed, that wonderful silky laugh of his. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think. If we go back to my home, I'm sure Mother would be able to make you something."

A sudden thought sprung into my head. "I've got a better idea. Can you teach me how to cook?"

Humans liked food. They gave it to each other as a welcoming present, or a gift of gratitude. I didn't know if Hiei enjoyed food or if he would understand my meaning behind giving it to him, but I certainly was will to give it a try.

Except my cooking lessons were turning out to be an absolute disaster. Kurama finally had to disable to smoke alarm in the hallway to silence it.

Failed attempt after failed attempt, I finally managed not to screw up a bowl of rice. I was ecstatic until Kurama let it slip that rice was the easiest human food to make. That totally burst my bubble.

One night, I stayed up late with Kurama trying to make a ginger roll cake. Three blackened, messed up cakes went in the garbage before Kurama declared we call it a night. I headed out to the door.

"Hey, maybe you should stay here tonight." Kurama said.

I paused, one hand on the doorknob. "What? Why?"

"Because it's late. You can sleep in my room, and I'll take my mother's so since she's gone for a couple of days."

I didn't move, still thinking through his offer. It would be so nice to sleep in an actual bed for once, and I certainly was rather fond of Kurama, but…I had spent my whole life distancing myself from others. Could I risk this?

"A-alright, I guess." I said weakly. Kurama gave me a look.

"Are you sure about that?" He said in amusement. I turned away from the door defiantly.

"Yes," I said strongly. "Yes, I am."

He smiled. "Follow me."


	8. Chapter 8

The hot water ran through my hair, washing away the dirt and grime that had accumulated since the last time I had showered. It felt amazing.

After the water began to turn cold, I shut it off and stepped out of the shower. I dried myself off with the towel that Kurama had set out for me, flinching slightly as I touched the skin near my tender healing wound. I dropped the towel lightly to the floor, pressing on the wound. It was nearly healed, but I still wasn't at full strength yet. And until I was, I couldn't go searching for whomever had attacked me in the first place. I was itching to get my hands around my attacker's neck.

Wrapped in nothing but the towel, I crept back to my room. Kurama was already fast asleep, as indicated by his soft breathing from the other side of his mother's bedroom door.

I sat delicately on Kurama's bed with a comb, observing myself in the mirror on the door to Kurama's closet. I ran the comb through my waist-length hair, tugging out the knots. I hummed a small tune as I dealt with a particularly tough tangle. I abruptly dropped the comb and opened my mouth to scream when I saw a dark shadow behind me.

"Don't," Hiei said, clasping his hand around my mouth. "Don't scream." When he felt me relax, he let go.

"I wasn't about to scream," I lied quickly, ashamed at my own near reaction. Hiei's brows raised, showing that he wasn't fooled. I pulled up the towel tighter around my body, noting Hiei's smug smirk. I blushed, and tried to distract him. "Anyways, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I came in expecting to see _Kurama_ in _Kurama's _room, but I got you instead."

"Don't sound so excited," I snapped in annoyance. Hiei smirked.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, attempting to sound casual. There was something else in his voice, some hidden emotion that I couldn't quite decipher. And I knew he'd get pissed if I spent too much effort trying.

"Kurama's been helping me…with something. And he just said I should stay instead of trying to find a place to crash at so late at night."

Hiei's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Helping you with what?"

"I'd prefer not to say," I said carefully, hoping I could still keep it a surprise.

Hiei didn't looked pleased with my answer. His eyes were blazing with internal fire.

"Fine," he said coolly. "Tell Kurama I want to talk to him tomorrow. Have a good night."

And before I could say another word, Hiei was out the window and flitting away through the darkness. I sighed in depression, waving a hand toward the light switch. It flicked off, and I lay down on the bed in the darkness, snuggling under the blankets to protect myself from the cold breeze blowing in through the window.

I was still blue the next morning when I woke up to the spicy scent of ginger of miso soup. I sighed, slipping out from under the blankets. I had forgotten I went to bed wearing nothing, and the towel fell from my body as I got to my feet. I hurriedly picked it up, covering myself once again until I managed to pull a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from Kurama's dresser. I dubiously noted my lack of clean underclothes before slipping into the way-too-big clothes. I ran one hand through my newly tangled hair before walking out into the hallway.

I followed the scent of food to the kitchen, where Kurama was stirring a pot on the stove. When he heard me enter the kitchen, he turned to greet me. He laughed loudly at my choice of attire.

"Couldn't find one of your own things, could you?" He asked.

"My green dress got ruined, and everything else isn't done yet. It's not my fault." I said testily. Kurama chuckled again.

"Well, it looks better on you than it does on me, so it's not a bother."

I smiled at the fox. "I sincerely doubt that."

I walked forward to help Kurama with the soup. He was hesitant to give me the wooden spoon, but eventually caved in with very explicit instructions on proper stirring techniques. Who knew it could be that complicated?

Finally, the soup was done, and I hadn't managed to mess it up. Kurama looked cheerful as he settled down to eat, which contrasted sharply with my depression.

"Is something wrong? You don't look well," Kurama commented.

I sighed heavily. "Hiei came to visit last night. Said he wants to talk to you sometime today."

The corner of Kurama's mouth twitched. "And that's reason to be depressed?"

I glared at him for teasing me. "Oh course not. But the fact that he seems to strongly dislike me no matter what I do is reason enough."

"What did you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything!" I protested angrily. "But he still seemed royally ticked off at me anyways."

"Hmmm." Kurama said thoughtfully. "Maybe he's jealous?"

I raised my eyebrows in amusement. "Honestly, I don't think you're quite his type, Kurama."

Kurama chuckled. "No, not me. But perhaps you are."

I burst into laughter. "Me? You've _got_ to be kidding. Hiei would rip my throat himself if faced with the proposition of dating me."

He shrugged. "You can believe that if you wish. But I hardly think he dislikes you as much as you think he does."

I huffed. "Agree to disagree." I couldn't allow myself to get my hopes up and have them crushed once again.

"What about you, Zen? What are your feelings towards Hiei?"

I froze, not knowing what to say. The truth? Or should I lie, like I did so often?

I licked my lips, trying to coax the words to come out. How was it this hard?

"I…I don't know why, but he's the most important person to me." I sighed, leaning back in my chair. I focused a death-glare on the handsome redhead. "And if you tell him that, I'll personally see to it that your death isn't a pleasant one."

Kurama grinned. "My lips are sealed."

I sighed, falling again deep into my sorrow. "I never knew it could hurt this much…Caring about someone and knowing they'll never feel the same."

Kurama snorted. "You're so pessimistic, it's depressing _me."_

"Well, excuse me for not considering your feelings every time I open my mouth."

We lapsed into silence as we finished out breakfast. As soon as I had eaten the last crumb, I stood up abruptly.

"I'm going out today," I announced to Kurama. He slowly stood up too, probably already guessing my intentions.

"Your wound has barely healed. Do you think that wise?"

I scoffed. "And do you think the Requiem will wait for me to be back in top shape every time they try to take a bite out of me? I can't afford to just sit back any longer."

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Well, then at least let me help you."

"Fine. Only if you don't slow me down."


	9. Chapter 9

We traveled to the temple where I had been shot, first. My blood was still dried onto the ground, and the grass beneath it was brown in death. I closed my eyes to bring back to mind the clear-cut memories of when I had been shot.

I had been talking to Hiei…

_What had we been talking about?_

He said something that made my heart pound…

_But what?_

And then, the arrow had pierced straight through my back, from underneath my left shoulder blade, in between my ribs, and out right below my lowest rib bone. This angle told me that the shooter would have been up above me. Possibly in the trees?

Without even telling Kurama my thoughts, I leapt straight up, landing delicately on a thick branch. A moment later, Kurama followed me.

"Do you have any idea who could have done this?" He said, his voice low like the shooter was still here. "Any demon in the Requiem that specializes in bows?"

"No," I said shortly, the majority of my attention focused on catching a whiff of the assassin who had been here a week prior. "We are all given basic skill training on a bow, but not many demons I've ever met have chosen one as their signature weapon. However…"

I spotted a deep wound in the branch of another tree. One that looked like someone had dropped acid on the bark. I lithely sprang over to tat branch, taking care not to touch the hole. I bent closer to sniff it instead, wrinkling my nose at the combined smell of holy water and aconitine. It was enough to melt a demon's nose hairs.

"However, only the top rank assassins of the Requiem are given access to the poison they used on me. The Boss must want me dead very badly."

With grace befitting a legendary fox bandit, Kurama jumped over onto the branch, and I panicked for a moment when the injured branch gave a creak of protest. But it held, and Kurama leaned over me to examine the wound. His intoxicating rose scent soaked into my senses, strangely making me long for the smell of burning wood and charcoal.

"Can you catch the scent of whomever was here?" Kurama asked softly.

I bit back an unnecessarily rude reply along the lines of _Not if you weren't blocking my senses with that ridiculously potent musk of yours,_ and instead leaned down once again, nearly scratching the tip of my nose on the bark.

I inhaled deeply, ignoring the strong rose scent, the earthly tree fragrance, and the caustic poison one that was hovering like a silent threat.

There…It was faint, almost gone, but it was there.

The unfamiliar smell of blood, fear, and sweat. If deceit had a scent, then that is what it would smell like. I leaned back, not wanting to taint my sinuses with the smell, but knowing I would now have to track it.

"Is something wrong?" Kurama asked softly, his soft rose scent wondrously cleansing my senses of the stench.

"A traitor." I said, growling low in my throat in anger. I hated traitors. There was a reason why the deepest pit of hell was reserved for betrayers. "Our very own Judas Iscariot. Except I don't know whether this Judas' betrayal is directed at me, or the Boss."

"Forgive my rudeness, but isn't that contradicting what _you're _doing? You're hunting down members of the Requiem. That's a betrayal in its own right." Kurama said logically.

I gritted my teeth in anger, but not at Kurama. "It's different. They're the ones that dealt the first blow. Therefore, whatever I do now is not disloyalty, but self-defense."

"No honor among thieves…" Kurama muttered under his breath. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"That sounds kind of funny coming from the greatest demonic thief of all time."

Kurama shrugged. I slipped off the branch, landing lightly on my feet. Kurama dropped to my side only a second later. I took a step away from him so that his delicious scent wouldn't clog up my senses again.

The treacherous odor had left a faint trail leading away from Tokyo. That was a surprise. Most assassins high-tailed it back to the Requiem after succeeding in a mission. Maybe we did had a renegade; an enemy of both the Boss and I. That was a very dangerous position.

Except there was one problem: I couldn't go any further. Even being in the forest was stretching the bounds of my confinement, and no doubt I would be in serious trouble if I continued after the demon for even two more meters. I snarled ferociously in anger, causing Kurama to jump.

"Damn it all!" I yowled, furiously slamming my fist into a tree, imbedding splinters deep into my hand. I ignored the shooting pain. "That bastard must know I can't follow him! Son of a-"

"Calm down," Kurama said anxiously, careful not to get too close in case I felt the urge to take my fury out on something besides nature. I took several deep breaths to try and gain control of myself for my friend's sake. I finally closed my eyes, unclenching my fists. Pain shot up my arm once more as the shards of wood moved around under my skin. Noticing me wince, Kurama took my hand.

"You should get Yukina to take a look at that," he said softly. "I'll get Yusuke and we'll go after this demon. Any particular direction he went?"

I waved my uninjured hand vaguely towards the west. "That's the way he headed after shooting me. I can't tell you any more than that."

"It's enough. Thanks," He gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze before turning and heading back towards Tokyo. I followed at a slower pace, ignoring the trail of blood I was leaving (which was probably going to end up biting me in the ass again one day).

By the time I reached the temple, Kurama was long gone. I tried not to worry about the fox too much, but as I didn't exactly have many friends, I was determined to keep the ones I did have.

Neither Yukina nor Genkai were in the temple, or the surrounding grounds. I frowned in concern, but the lingering clean scent of Yukina told me that they had only left a few minutes ago, and it had been without struggle. I sigh in frustration as my plan to get my hand quickly treated was foiled.

I sunk down on the floor in the middle of the sanctuary, resigned to pulling the splinters out myself.

"What did you do this time?" An exasperated voice asked from the dark hallway. A second later, the smell of charcoal and smoke I had been longer for reached my nostrils. I turned my head to see Hiei walking towards me.

"How do you know if I've done something or not?" I asked innocently, hiding my hand behind my back. Hiei raised his eyebrows.

"Because I was able to smell your blood from the moment you entered the temple," he said calmly. "You're not the only one with a good nose, you know."

I sighed and held up my hand so he could see it. He frowned, stepping closer.

"I got mad and punched a tree," I confessed. I expected Hiei to chuckle, or at least smile, but instead his eyes darkened with fury.

"The assassins after your head are doing a good enough job of hurting you without your help," he said shortly. I opened my mouth to fire an angry retort, which was caught in my throat as Hiei abruptly sat down and took my bleeding hand in his own.

"It'd be better if Yukina was here to help," he muttered. "I'm not good at doing things like this gently."

"Why does that not surprise me?" I sighed, clenching my teeth together as Hiei grasped the tip of a sliver and yanked it out. Blood pulsed out freely, splashing onto the floor. Hiei swore.

"How can a tiny waif like you have so much blood?" He hissed angrily.

"I'm not a waif!" I protested indignantly. Any further verbal defense was cut off as Hiei lowered his mouth to my hand to lick up the blood.

My heart began to pound painfully hard, and I momentarily felt like I was floating. A moment later, Hiei brought his head back up, wiping his mouth.

"Not bad," he commented. I blinked, reveling in the closest thing to a compliment I'd ever received from Hiei. My hand felt like it was burning, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

I think I was still in a state of shock as Hiei resumed pulling out the splinters. I didn't even feel the other wood fragments leaving my skin. All I could think about was the ornery fire demon in front of me.

Finally, the last bloody sliver dropped to the ground, and I forced myself to come back down to earth. Hiei was staring at my hand, still bleeding, like he was unsure of what to do next. At last he slid his hand down to circle around my wrist, gently pulling me to my feet.

"Come on," he said, pulling me along behind him without giving a clue to where we were going. I found I didn't care, even if he was taking me down to burn in the fires of hell. Just as long as he was beside me.


	10. Chapter 10

It turned out to be nothing more than an uneventful trip to the outdoor pond to wash off the blood. I inhaled sharply as Hiei yanked my hand into the freezing cold water, even though I enjoyed the strange contrast between the icy water and Hiei's fiery skin.

The koi fish below the surface swam up to examine my hand in curiosity, probably hoping it was food. Their eagerness only lasted until they got close, at which point they bolted away in a colorful flurry. It could have been because of my blood slowly staining the water pink, or the demonic energy that was seeping from both Hiei's and my hands, or maybe even both. Either way, I felt a bit sorry for tainting their habitat. I mentally promised myself to come and help Yukina clean out the pond one of these days.

"There," Hiei said, running his fingers lightly over my wounded hand to make sure every speck of blood was cleaned off. My heart gave another lurch.

"You do know that you probably infected me with some sort of painfully deadly disease by dunking my hand in a fish pond, don't you?" I joked, in an effort to lighten the mood. Hiei rolled his eyes.

"You're too stubborn to let a little thing like an infection kill you." He shot back. I smiled.

Hiei raised my hand from the water, giving it a little shake to get the droplets of water off. He pulled me closer to him, forcing me to crawl on two knees and one hand. He dried my hand on a segment of his long black cloak, clicking his tongue in annoyance as the blood began to well up from the groves in my skin again. He reached up behind his head, pulling off the white cloth that covered his third eye.

"That will have to do for now," he muttered, wrapping it around my hand. I mentally cursed the white cloth that was now separating his hand from mine. Miraculously, Hiei reached in his cloak to pull out another piece of white cloth and wrapped it once more around his head. Seriously, did he carry a zillion of them around with him? And if that was that case, why did I get the one he'd been wearing only moments before?

"Thanks," I mumbled, trying my hardest not t betray my feelings. Apparently it worked too well, because Hiei gave me a strange look.

"Well I'm glad you're so happy I've helped you," he said sarcastically. "I'll have to remember that next time I get the urge to do a good deed."

My heart clenched. "No, wait," I said, a touch of hysteria to my tone. "That's not what I…I meant, thanks, Hiei," I said with genuine sincerity. His eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Wow, I got Zen, the almighty assassin to express gratitude," he said, his voice filled with mock awe. "Next thing I know, I'll have her apologizing!"

"Hey!" I snapped, although I was secretly pleased he was teasing me since it meant his anger with me the previous night had dissipated. "You know that will never happen."

He sighed in disappointment. "Dare to dream."

He frowned, instantly becoming serious. "I suppose this counts as your check-in for the day. So you don't really have any reason to linger."

I pouted. "I've already spent most of the day with Kurama. I'm still here because I want to be."

Oops. Apparently I had said the wrong thing. Hiei's features hardened in anger. The suspicion that Kurama had told me about Hiei being jealous once again flashed through my thoughts. I prayed that he wasn't going to run off before I got the chance to explain properly.

"Kurama's just a friend," I said softly. "Someone I admire. I have no more romantic interest for him that I do for…say, Kuwabara."

"Why should I care?" Hiei said coldly, although his body relaxed ever so slightly.

I shrugged, determined not to let him win this time. "I don't know. You tell me."

Hiei seemed at a loss for words. Finally he turned his back to me. "It doesn't matter." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than me. My heart flittered in hope.

I got silently to my feet, laying a hand gently on the side of his arm. I expected him to shrug me off, and when he didn't, I felt heartened.

"Do you want to spend the day with me?" I asked suddenly, before I allowed myself enough time to lose my courage.

Hiei paused, clearly debating the answer. My heart my pounding in my throat. At last he turned to face me. I looked up into his eyes, hoping to perceive some sort of emotion. I was disappointed.

"I suppose I can afford to waste one day," he said smoothly. I ignored the 'waste' part and just smiled.

"What do humans do for fun while with a friend?" I asked Hiei casually once we were back inside the city limits. "I'm a little behind the times on human traditions." Indeed, the last time I'd spent more than a couple of days in the human world, there hadn't even been electricity or indoor plumbing.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "And you think I know any better than you?" He replied sardonically. I sighed. He glanced sideways at me warily. "Maybe…we could watch a movie? That's what Keiko and Yusuke always do."

"Hmmm," I replied thoughtfully. "That idea has merits. But…oh! Humans do this thing, called 'dinner and a movie.' I hear it's a really popular thing for two friends to do."

"Alright," Hiei said instantly. "We do we go for dinner?"

Although I was the last person in the world to ask, I started to wander down the street, looking for a place that looked like they sold food.

"How about here?" I said, stopping in front of a small building with the word 'restaurant' in the title.

Hiei shrugged. "It'll do."

The moment I stepped across the threshold, smells I had never encountered before assaulted my nose. Some were bad, some good. And judging from Hiei's wrinkled nose, he didn't seem to think any of them were good.

"Hi," said the pretty woman behind a nearby counter. "Only two?"

"Erm…yes," I said, assuming she meant the number of people.

"Follow me, please," She said, stepping out from behind the counter and walking off. I set off after her immediately, but Hiei hesitated. I reached back and grabbed the sleeve of his cloak with my unwounded hand.

"Come on," I urged. He grumbled, but allowed me to pull him along.

The woman led us to a table with two chairs. I took one of them, and Hiei the other. She handed us two boards covered with some strange type of plastic cloth, upon which there was a list. A list of available food, apparently

"What is this?" Hiei murmured in disgust. "I've never even heard of half of these things!"

Neither had I. But I wasn't going to admit that to Hiei. "They have descriptions under the name," I explained, faking exasperation. "Just find one that appeals to you."

Hiei grumbled, but glanced back down at his list. I did as well, even though I was in the same predicament as Hiei. I mean, what the hell was shrimp linguini and chicken alfredo?

"May I get you something to drink?" A different girl asked, approaching our table.

I gaped, not knowing at all what to say? What did they offer here? Certainly not bloodberry wine or Ogre Sake any of the other beverages native to Demon World.

"Water for both of us," Hiei said. I closed my eyes in relief.

"Thanks," I whispered as the girl left. He smirked, looking very pleased with himself. Rolling my eyes, I looked back down at the food list.

Oh, portabella mushroom ravioli. I didn't know what a portabella or a ravioli was, but I liked mushrooms. Maybe it would be safe to try.

I set down my list confidently, reveling in Hiei's annoyed glance. A second later the girl came back, setting down two glasses of icy water in front of us.

"Ready to order?" She asked politely.

"Erm…yes," I said, thinking that 'to order' meant to tell her what we wanted to eat. I pointed at my list. "I'd like this, please."

"The Mushroom Ravioli? Sure. And you, sir?"

I doubted Hiei had ever been called 'sir' before in his life. And it didn't seem to be at all to his liking. He too pointed at the list.

"This." He said shortly.

"Sausage Spaghetti? Alright, I'll just put your order in." She took both of our food lists and walked away.

"So…" I said slowly, after a minute of awkward silence.

"I'm praying to every god out there that what I just ordered isn't poisonous. I've never even heard of spaghetti before."

I laughed. "I doubt they make a regular habit of poisoning people here, Hiei. But if they do, then Genkai has an excellent method of extracting poison. I've already tested it out, myself."

Hiei didn't look amused, despite my attempt at a joke. "On that subject, you need to be more careful."

I frowned, wondering why I was receiving a lecture. "I've spent two hundred years as an assassin, which is a profession not for the faint of heart or weak of body. It's a little late to be worrying about my safety."

Hiei shrugged noncommittally. "Well, I didn't care before."

My heart leapt in my chest, wondering about his words. But I was careful not to let my emotion show on my face.

"And why do you care now?"

He hardly looked fazed. "As much as I hate to say it, you are a part of the team now. As being the only two with a decent amount of sense, Kurama and I have to look after the rest of you."

"Hey!" I snapped. Hiei smiled, a smile that caused my angry retort to die on my lips. I flushed, lowering my eyes to the table.

We fell into silence until our food came. I sniffed eagerly at mine, finding the smell quite delectable. The girl set the two plates in front of us and walked away. Hiei leaned over the table to get a whiff of my meal. I have to admit, his smelled awful. And he apparently thought mine did as well.

"There's no meat in that!" He remarked in disgust. "How can you eat that?"

I scowled at him. "I'm a vegetarian."

Hiei's jaw dropped in a comical look of shock. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not!" I said seriously. "After so many years of dealing death to any people in any way the client chose, I've rather lost my fondness for meat."

Hiei's expression sobered up. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged, spearing one piece of ravioli on my fork. "It's not bothering me. I'm sorry it bothers you, though." I popped the bite in my mouth.

"It doesn't really," Hiei replied, with an odd emotion lighting up his eyes. I swallowed my bite with some difficulty.

Maybe there was hope for us after all.


	11. Chapter 11

"Thank you for coming. Please enjoy the rest of your day," the girl said when Hiei and I both cleaned our plates. She set a small rectangle of paper on our table. Both Hiei and I stared at it in confusion.

"What's this?" Hiei asked curiously, picking up the paper. He frowned at it, clearly not comprehending. I reached over to take it from him.

Written on it was the name of the restaurant, what Hiei and I had eaten, and a column of numbers that added together for a total. I frowned, thinking.

"Hiei…I think this is what we have to pay for eating here."

"Pay?" Hiei hissed quietly. "I didn't know we had to pay!"

Honestly, I hadn't either. But now a tiny surge of panic was taking over me. I didn't have any human money, and I highly doubted whether Hiei did either.

"Now what?" I asked.

Hiei glanced around at the other people in the restaurant, watching as a few took out money-holders, pulling sheaves of paper money from them.

"You're the criminal, you tell me." He said slowly.

I too looked around, my frown deepening. "I'm an assassin, not a thief. And just to be fair, you're not exactly a law-abiding citizen either."

"You're faster than me," Hiei argued. "Maybe you could steal something from someone on the street, instead?"

"Fine," I said. I got swiftly to my feet. "Wait here."

I walked out of the restaurant, trying my hardest to look casual. There were people milling all around the sidewalk, which would make it much easier to pick someone's pocket without being noticed. I leaned against the side of the restaurant, watching people walk by.

Most human males seemed to carry their money-holders in their back pockets, but females kept them in bags they slung over their shoulders. It would probably be easier to steal a man's.

A man with an unnaturally square bulge on his backside walked by me, and I instantly stepped behind him. I kept close, but not close enough to rouse suspicion. I darted my hand into his pocket, too quickly for a human eye to follow. I pulled out the money-holder that smelled like some sort of dead animal skin, hiding it from view in the palm of my hand as I turned on my heel and sauntered back to the restaurant.

I slid back into my seat, popping open the holder. Inside were several hard squares of plastic, as well as a great deal of the paper cash.

"Good job," Hiei said approvingly. I nodded absently.

"How many of these do we need?" I asked, pulling out the slips of paper. Hiei took them from me, frowning.

"Look here, these say 'ten,' and those 'five.' The paper says we need three of the tens."

"That will leave a difference of five dollars," I argued. "We could just do two tens and a five."

"I think I remember Yusuke saying that if someone does a good job giving you food, you leave them extra money."

I thought that through. "Fair enough. Do we just leave that at the table?"

"I guess so."

Hiei set down the money on top of the ticket, and got out of his seat. I followed him out of the restaurant, when the first woman smiled and also wished us a good evening.

"Now, a movie," I said cheerfully, tucking the money-holder into my shorts. "You don't happen to know where we would watch one, would you?"

"Actually, I do," Hiei said smugly. "It's a place called a theatre. Follow me." He set off, not even looking behind to see if I was following. I sighed.

It also took two tens to get us admittance into the theatre. I didn't even know what the title of the movie meant we were watching, but I was determined to have a good time. An idea that was quickly foiled when we entered the place the movie was playing.

I grabbed Hiei's arm. "There's a demon in here," I hissed in his ear.

He gave me a patronizing look. "Actually, there's two. You and me."

I gave his arm a little shake. "That's not what I meant."

Hiei sighed. "I know. Just stay close. I won't let them hurt you."

I blushed, thankful for the dim lighting of the theatre so that Hiei wouldn't see. I couldn't tell exactly where the demon was, only that the scent of its aura was permeating the theatre.

Hiei and I took two seats on the edge of a row near the back. Hiei leaned a little closer to me than he needed too, but I had the feeling he was trying to mask my scent and aura with his own. I resisted the urge to scoot even closer to him. I'd had way too much excitement for one day, and the last thing I needed was a demon attack to muck anything up between Hiei and I.

The theatre darkened completely, and a film started showing on the screen. But Hiei and I were barely paying attention. Every nerve in our bodies were braced for any danger.

"Run," Hiei said suddenly. I frowned, not aware of his intentions. He didn't give me anymore chance of deciphering the riddle either, as the next moment he shoved me roughly out of my seat.

"Run!" He bellowed as I landed in the middle of the aisle. Every head in the theatre swiveled in our direction, and then I saw it.

A large shimmer, just meters away from me. One that vaguely had the shape of a humanoid. Meaning, it had two legs, one head, and two arms, but otherwise very little resemblance to a human.

I scrambled to my feet, heading to the exit. I didn't enjoy fleeing from an enemy, but I'd rather fight it when I had at least an indication of what it was. Not many demons I knew of had the power to become nearly invisible. And I wasn't looking forward to meeting a demon almost three times as tall as me without a heady arsenal on my person.

I heard crashes and screams behind me, telling me that Hiei had engaged the demon and was trying to stop it from chasing after me. I ran faster, ignoring the alarmed shouts of the personnel in the lobby. I shoved open the door, dashing out into the twilight.

Once outside I paused, concentrating my senses to find help. Yusuke and Kurama were far out of my range, Genkai was back at the temple, and Kuwabara was somewhere in the middle of the city, probably at his home. I didn't like the option, but it was the only choice I had.

I sprung forward, sprinting as fast as I could toward where Kuwabara's scent swam through the air. I couldn't believe the day had come that I was running to a _human_ for help…

When I arrived at the origin of Kuwabara's scent, I was nearly out of breath. I pounded on the door loudly, not stopping until I heard an annoyed voice from the other side.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'…"

The door opened and a woman of about twenty years of age stared down at me. She had a cigarette hanging from her lips.

"Can I help you?" She asked, puzzled.

"Kuwabara," I gasped. "Urgent."

The woman nodded. "KAZUMA!" She bellowed. "Get yir lazy butt in here!"

I felt a wave of relief when Kuwabara walked in from the hallway. From the looks of it, he'd just woken up.

"Geez, Shizuru, where's the fire?"

Shizuru shrugged and stepped to the side to expose me to Kuwabara's view. "Ask her."

"Zen?" Kuwabara said in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Hiei," I said in a hurry, not caring if I was blowing the code of secrecy by blurting this in front of Shizuru. "A demon attacked, and he's fighting it. I don't know if he's going to be okay. He seemed to think the demon was after me."

Kuwabara's face smoothed over in determination.

"Where is he?"

Instead of answering, I dashed out of the house, with Kuwabara hot on my heels. I traced my path back, focusing all my attention on Hiei's flaring aura.

_Please be okay, please be okay…_

* * *

Okay, hi there everyone. Sorry I've been updating sporadically. Sorry I haven't been posting notes and thanking everyone for their kind reviews!

So here it is. Thank you! Please be patient with me.

Lark


	12. Chapter 12

I skidded to a halt in front of the theatre, horrified by what I saw.

A great portion of it had been utterly blown away. What remained was mostly on fire. I couldn't smell any sense of death, so I assumed that no humans had died. But maybe just the suffocating smoke clouding the air was blocking everything else out.

"Hiei!" I screamed.

I heard an inhuman shriek that definitely didn't belong to Hiei from the back of the theatre. I dashed around the sides, stopping a good distance away once I saw them.

Hiei's cloak was in tatters, and small splatters of his own blood marked his skin. He was covered in dust and soot, but otherwise looked fine. He was still on his feet, at least.

His opponent was no longer invisible. It looked like King Kong, albino version. A giant white monkey-like creature with red fire for eyes. He looked far less injured than Hiei, which sent a tremor of fear down my spine.

"Zen?" Hiei yelled, glancing over at me in fury. "I thought I told you to run!"

"I couldn't leave you!" I shouted back.

"And she brought reinforcements!" Kuwabara called.

Hiei snorted. "A fat lot of help you'll be. I might as well start throwing pebbles at him and hope that's his secret weakness."

"Hey!" Kuwabara shouted. I elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

"We need to concentrate on helping Hiei," I hissed. "That's a shen demon. Their hide is thicker than a three-feet thick wall of steel, and they enjoy the feeling of flesh ripping beneath their bare hands. They specialize in the kidnapping of women."

"No doubt that you were its target, then," Kuwabara muttered, focused completely on the battle as it resumed. The monkey moved a lot faster than his size should permit, nearly matching Hiei's speed. But his strength and thick fur brought Hiei to a significant disadvantage.

"I can't stand by and watch Hiei get beaten to a pulp," I hissed, gritting my teeth.

"Believe me, Hiei would pummel you if you interfered with his fight."

I smiled, struck by a sudden thought. "Not if I wasn't the one who brought me into the fight, right?" I rummaged in a small pouch that hung from a sash holding Kurama's shorts up to my waist. I pulled out a tiny vial of a soft pinkish liquid. I took the stopper out, dabbing a little on my wrists and neck.

"I don't think now is the right time to be reapplying your perfume," Kuwabara pointed out. I scowled at him.

"It's maneku oil. The scent is only potent to animal type demons, like our shen friend here. It'll drive him mad with the desire to devour whatever smells like the oil. In that case, me." I poured a small amount of maneku into the palm of my hand.

"Do you think that's the smartest move to be making?" Kuwabara asked dubiously. I ignored him and blew on the oil in my hand, directing the scent towards Hiei and the shen. Then I waited.

After a moment the shen paused, ignoring Hiei as the fire demon slashed at him with his sword. Then he started to lumber towards me.

"Back away now," I snapped at Kuwabara. Now that I saw the hungry look in the shen's eyes, I was starting to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

I jumped backwards to avoid the shen's lunge, but his arm length was longer than I had estimated. He caught me, easily wrapping both of his hands around my body with enough force to bruise.

I swore violently, trying to think of some trick I could pull that would get him to release me and forcing thoughts that this might have been the stupidest plan I've ever hand out of my mind. But my mind was blank with panic. And a second later, my thoughts were seared with pain.

The shen bit me, sinking his teeth deep into my torso. His mouth was so large that his teeth were grating across my shoulder blades in the back, and crushing my sternum in the front. I couldn't breath anymore because of the agony.

And any second now he was going to pull backwards, ripping my body in half.

The shen began to close its mouth, shattering my ribs and snapping my arm. I threw back my head in a silent scream, wishing I could pass out and be free from the pain. That is, until the surge of energy behind me made me wish I was dead instead.

The shen felt it too, and he froze. He detached his teeth from me, somehow not taking too much of my flesh with him. He dropped me to the ground and I collapsed. Slowly, he turned.

Hiei was standing behind the enormous white monkey, his left hand blazing with black fire. He looked furious, and I was terrified to think what he was doing. My terror became all the more real when a colossal dragon made of that same black fire erupted from his hand.

The shen screeched in horror, which was the only thing he was able to do before the dragon swallowed him whole. I smelt the horrible scent of burning hair and flesh before the dragon abruptly sizzled away into nothing.

"Zen!" Kuwabara shouted, rushing towards me. I still did not know why or how I was remaining conscious. Maybe I really was dying.

Hiei ran to my side a second later, looking completely battered. His face was full of fear. Fear of losing me.

"I'll be damned…" I gasped weakly, finding it hard to even draw breath anymore. I forced my lungs to inflate with air, ignoring my broken ribs as they screamed in protest. I tried again. "I'll be damned…if I let…a weakling like…that kill me. You'd better…get me fixed up, quick."

Hiei nodded, resolve replacing the fear. Gently he scooped me up in his arms, and then we were flying across the ground, at a speed I had thought impossible for Hiei. Knowing I was (literally) in good hands, I finally found myself able to slip into blessed darkness.

I jolted back into consciousness suddenly, nearly screaming as agony tore through my body. I arched my back as if that would somehow help me escape the pain. As to be expected, it didn't work.

"Hold her down!" Some deep voice that my pain-addled brain refused to recognize commanded. I instantly felt pressure on my wrists and legs, and on my lower abdomen. In my weakened state that was enough to keep me glued flat to the ground.

"Zen," The same voice as before whispered softly in my ear. I clung to the voice, using it to drown out the pain. "If you can hear me, this is going to hurt. A lot. Be strong."

I felt a rush of loss when the voice stopped. And fear. What did it mean, 'this is going to hurt?' I didn't want to know what it was referring to.

I didn't have to wonder for long. Searing fire spread over my already injured body, causing me to actually scream this time. I twisted and writhed, unable to move much from whatever was holding me down. Oh, whatever god was out there…Please make it stop…Please…

I wasn't aware of passing out again, but I must have, because when I woke up, my body only ached, and not the outright agony as before. The objects that were keeping me down to the ground were gone too, but there was a tight pressure around my whole torso. On the bright side, I hope that at least meant I wasn't dead.

I cautiously cracked open one eye, not eager to see the burning flames of hell in case I had passed on. But all that greeted my eyes was a wooden room and the bright winter sun shining in through the window.

Wait a sec…Bright winter sun? It had been autumn when Hiei and I had gotten attacked in the movie theatre! Don't tell me I had been unconscious for weeks!

I closed my eyes again and swore out loud, my voice cracking and hoarse from lack of use. Yep. I'd definitely been out for a while.

I felt a presence immediately at my side, and smelled the sweet scent of roses. Trying not to feel too disappointed, I opened my eyes.

"Kurama," I croaked, trying to smile. And probably failing.

"How do you feel?" He asked anxiously. I groaned, reaching my right hand up to run a hand through my hair.

"What happened?" I asked instead, thinking it would take far too long to fully describe everything I was feeling.

"How much do you remember?" Kurama shot back. I licked my lips before recounting everything, from the attack, to getting bitten, to my semi-conscious experience. Kurama listened intently.

"Hiei cauterized your wounds," he said, explaining the burning agony I had felt. "That was the only way we could stop your bleeding and save your life."

"Save my life?" I repeated hollowly. I felt a shock of emptiness. He'd repaid his debt. There was no reason for him to be around me any more.

"He did more than that," Genkai said, walking into the room. She was followed by Kuwabara and Yukina. Kurama smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I suppose he did."

"I beg of you, please stop being vague." I said wearily.

Kurama sighed. "You've been in a coma for the past six weeks, Zen. Hiei hasn't left your side until two days ago, when I told him to. He slept here, ate here…"

"And unfortunately didn't shower here," Kuwabara said. "He smelled worse than he normally does."

I didn't comment, as I thought Hiei's smoky scent was one of the best fragrances on earth.

"Not the point," Kurama said softly. I closed my eyes.

"But why?" I asked. "Why did he stay here?"

"Yusuke and I have school, and Kurama couldn't. Koenma seemed to think you needed one of the guys to watch over you, anyways." Kuwabara said. I frowned, looking at Kurama with a questioning expression.

"You still reeked of that maneku you seemingly doused yourself with," Kurama said, answering my unasked question of why he had been incapable of babysitting comatose me. "I couldn't be around you for very long before I wanted to take a bite out of you myself. It only just wore off."

"Oops," I said with a small smile. "I forgot that the maneku would work on you, too." I sighed. "Anyways, do you know where Hiei might be? I wish to talk to him."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Kuwabara asked, but Kurama shushed him with a wave of his hand.

"We haven't seen him since he left," Kurama said softly. "But he should still be in the city. As his probation prohibits him from leaving."

"Thanks," I said, getting unsteadily to my feet. Kurama placed his hand on my shoulder to steady me, but after a moment I shrugged him off. I closed my eyes, imagining the fiery scent of Hiei.

I was still weak, so it took me much longer than it normally should to locate the fire demon. I felt his burning energy somewhere, but it was so damn hard to pinpoint! Finally, I got a general area on the outskirts of Tokyo. I opened my eyes.

"Got him," I said, even though that was a bit of a lie.

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Kurama asked. I was already shaking my head before he even finished the sentence.

"I'll be fine. And plus, I'd prefer to talk to him in private."

Kurama nodded in understanding, but Kuwabara looked as confused as ever. Yukina approached me.

"Please be careful," she said in an undertone, although I was sure that everyone but the thick Kuwabara could hear. "There was something…off about Mr Hiei when he left. Don't strain yourself."

I nodded gravely, although I didn't worry for an instant. Even if Hiei decided to hurt me, I didn't care. Not as long as it was him.

"See you later," I called to them, ignoring the stiffness of my body as I ran out of the temple. None of that mattered. All that did matter was finding the damned fire demon who had captured my heart.


	13. Chapter 13

I slowed to a trot, panting. Since I hadn't used my muscles for six weeks, I wasn't surprised I was so out of shape. I pressed my hand to the stitch in my side, glancing around frantically. He was around here somewhere…I could _feel_ it.

There was a flash of black in front of me, and I gasped. I stumbled back, losing my balance and nearly falling. A hand reached out to grab my waist, yanking back to my feet. I fell against a warm body, and didn't move.

"You're awake." Hiei said softly.

"Seems so," I replied, hardly unable to hear anything but the pounding of my own heart. He still hadn't let go of me. "And you're free."

Hiei frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You saved my life. You're bound to me no longer." I tried to hide my sadness at the situation.

Hiei scoffed and stepped back from me, finally releasing his hold on my wrist. "You simpleton," He said softly. "Sometimes it doesn't take an ancient demon law to bind you to someone. Besides, I hardly think what I did constituted as saving your life. As far as I'm concerned, I'm still in your debt."

"What…?" I began, but Hiei shook his head.

"Not now. Anyways, there must be a reason you came here other than to talk about the debt."

"Oh," I said, my thoughts still on what he's said. But truth be told, there wasn't really any other reason than the fact that I had wanted to see him. And I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Just to…thank you, I guess. For staying with me when I was out."

Hiei gritted his teeth in sudden anger. "Damn that fox! I told him not to tell you that!"

I laughed. "I'm glad he did. If not, I would have thought you'd be more than happy to be rid of me."

Hiei stepped closer to me once again, leaning down so that his face was only inches from mine. I found it difficult to breathe when his own breath was brushing against my lips.

"And what have I done to ever give you that impression?"

"I don't know," I breathed, barely raising my voice. My eyes skimmed over his face, unable to hold his gaze. "What have you done to prove otherwise?"

"Aside from staying by your side for weeks on end?" Hiei shot back.

I closed my eyes. I was being ungrateful, I knew it. But something in me that wasn't connected to my brain was urging me on. "Something any loyal friend would do for an ally. But nothing more."

Hiei hissed in surprise. "You _want_ more? From me, of all people?"

I raised my eyes to meet his. "Who else?" I challenged.

Hiei exhaled sharply, pulling away and swiftly turning all in the same motion. "Kurama, Kuwabara, anyone! Everyone else!"

I jerked back like I had been stung. "And you wonder why I think you hate me?"

I turned and bolted away, faster than was safe so that he couldn't catch me.

I jumped in through the window in Kurama's room, glad to see that he was out. I yowled in anger.

"That ass!" I shrieked, stamping my foot with enough power to cause a dent in the carpet. I longed to throw my fist into the wall, but I didn't dare cause any permanent damage to Kurama's house.

I raged around his room for a few more minutes before throwing myself onto the bed. I slammed my fist into his pillow, causing a gout of soft white feathers to blow up. I buried my face in the ruined pillow, mentally promising to buy him another one sometime with the money I had stole that one day.

I rolled on my back, staring up at the ceiling. The minutes ticked by, and slowly the shadows on the ceiling lengthened until the room was thrown into pitch blackness. And still, I didn't move.

The door to the bedroom opened and the light blazed on. I jumped slightly, blinking rapidly to force my eyes to adjust faster.

"Zen?" Kurama asked, closing the door quickly behind him. "What are you doing here?"

I sat up, swinging my feet over the side of the bed.

"I'm sorry," I said tonelessly. "I'll leave."

Kurama stepped forward. "No, you don't have to. What's wrong?"

I fell back on the bed in exasperation. "Everything. And nothing."

Kurama raised one eyebrow. "Come again?"

I sighed, closing my silver eyes. "Everything is how is should be, and that's what makes it so wrong."

The brilliant redhead sat down on the edge of the bed by my feet. "Want to talk about it?"

"Yes, but there's so much to say…I don't know where to begin!"

Kurama didn't say anything, but waited for me to speak. I gritted my teeth. I'd really been hoping he'd be able to help me out a bit.

"Hiei told me that I was cold-hearted once. How ironic that he'd be the one to thaw my so-called 'heart of ice.'" I finally admitted.

"Hiei does have an unfortunate habit of being unpredictable." Kurama agreed.

"And yet, he hates me."

Kurama frowned. "I really don't-"

I jerked upright, my eyes shining with fury. "Don't you _dare_ tell me that he doesn't feel like that. You know what happened before I came here. I confessed to him. I told him I had feelings for him. And he utterly rejected me. Try telling me now that he cares for me."

Kurama seemed to be lost for words and I felt a sort of grim satisfaction that I had won the argument.

"How long am I going to be stuck here?" I whined, abruptly changing the topic. "I can't wait to get out of here."

"Probably until Koenma sees that you're trustworthy enough to be set free. Might be a while."

I pouted. "Why? I've been a good girl."

"Only because you've been unconscious for the majority of the time you've been here." He teased. I threw the holey pillow at him.

"You're not helping the situation."

Kurama opened his mouth to reply, but I suddenly threw a hand up to silence him. All of my nerves in my body were humming with danger. Carefully disguised demonic energy was seeping into the room through the open window.

"We need to get out of here," I hissed to Kurama. I felt the power spike as it realized I had felt it. "Now!"

Kurama jumped to his feet and headed to the door, with me only a heartbeat behind him. As I slipped into the hallway, I heard the wooden bed frame explode into kindling as the demon unleashed its anger.

"Please tell me your mother isn't home!" I shouted at Kurama as we dashed down the stairs.

"Business trip to Hokkaido," Kurama called back. I exhaled in relief and concentrated on saving only the two of us now.

We bolted out the front door, and I spun on my heel.

"Zen?" Kurama said. "What are you doing?"

"I don't like to run," I growled, bending down to pull several daggers from my boot. "And I don't think you do either. I plan on showing this demon just how foolish it is to attack the legendary Bandit Fox and one of the Requiem's best assassins."

Kurama smiled, reaching back to slip a large red rose from behind his hair. "I like the way you think."

I fell silent, waiting for the demon to walk out the open door and into the presence of two very pissed-off demons. But it didn't come. In the light of the full moon overheard, I could clearly see the entrance to the house, and although I felt the demon energy surrounding us now. What was going on?

The answer came to me suddenly, and I twirled around to grab the front of Kurama's shirt and pull him towards me. Not a second too soon. A moment later, a silver blade slashed through the air where Kurama's neck had been just a nanosecond before.

"Tane," I hissed, crouching down warily. "What are you doing here?"

Tane rematerialized from his shadowy form, giving the impression that he had just stepped out of the surrounding shadows. I growled slightly when I saw him.

He didn't look like the same timid little demon I had always known. Well, he did, at least physically, but his aura and his mannerisms were emitting pure confidence. Something was off…

"Taking out the traitor." He replied calmly, his voice sending shivers down my spine. I clenched my teeth together.

"Then why go after Kurama? He's got nothing to do with this!"

Tane's plain brown eyes were cold as they slid over to examine the fox demon. "One traitor is the same as any other. He's a traitor to the Demon World, and you and I are both traitors to the Requiem." He grinned predatorily. "We're all Judases here."

"You, a traitor?" I spat. "Clarify that for me."

Tane's grin widened, and his form shimmered, shifting up and out, becoming impossibly tall and muscular. I gasped when the shimmer vanished.

The Boss. _Tane had transformed into the Boss!_

"How…?" I gasped, surprised to find I still had use of my voice.

"The only good thing about a bunch of bloodthirsty demon assassins is how utterly idiotic they can be," The Boss said softly, seemingly enjoying every moment of this. "They never even connected me to poor, weak little Tane."

I shook my head, slowly regaining my senses through the shock. "That's not surprising. Who would ever imagine that the most powerful demon in the Requiem was the same as the one assassin who was about as useful as a bullet made out of gouda cheese? But…" I clutched the hilts of the knives I held tighter, feeling deliciously bloodthirsty just like the Boss had said. "I do understand why you admit your own treachery. The Boss cannot take on missions himself. He can only give them out. It's one of the most basic laws of the Requiem. So, as Tane, you were committing a crime that is punishable by your own death. A Judas, indeed."

The Boss shrugged carelessly. "What can I say? I enjoy killing far too much to give it up."

I snarled. "You disgust me. Murder isn't something to _enjoy._ It's a business."

The Boss raised one eyebrow. "Is that what you think? It's a shame that I am going to kill you, then. You would have made a far better Boss that I ever did."

Surprised as I was that he'd actually admitted something like that, I wasn't about to be caught off my guard. But I needed a plan.

"Kurama," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth. The fox didn't even twitch a muscle, but I knew he was listening. "If the Boss has made it his mission to wipe out traitors, then Hiei probably isn't safe. Go. Warn him."

"And you?" Kurama whispered back to me.

"I'll keep him distracted while you escape…And then I plan on giving this sadistic bastard a taste of his own medicine."

Kurama nodded curtly. "Alright."

"On three close your eyes and run," I said quietly, reaching in the pouch that was hooked on my belt. "One…"

"Two," Kurama whispered, tensing up his body.

"Three!" I shouted, throwing up a handful of silvery powder. The instant it hit the air it exploded into a bright, blinding light. I snapped my eyes shut, feeling them burn from the light. And from the Boss's cry of pain, I could tell he was feeling it too. I kept my eyes closed to make it easier to rely on my other senses. The sweet scent of Kurama was rapidly fading, meaning he had successfully gotten away.

The Boss's arm slammed against my neck out of nowhere, throwing me against the outside of Kurama's house. I choked at the suffocating pressure on my throat, willing myself not to pass out.

"You wretch!" The Boss howled. "What did you do?"

"Get…off!" I gasped, stabbing one of my daggers into his arm. With a grunt of pain he released me, and I fell to the ground.

My vision was returning, and I scrambled back to my feet to dash around the Boss. I needed to be more careful. He wasn't the Boss for nothing…

The Boss's eyes were streaming tears of pain, but he angrily wiped them away.

"You fool!" He snarled at me. "You don't honestly think you can defeat me?"

"I would be a fool if I weren't to try," I shot back, twirling one of my daggers in my palm. "Bring it."

The Boss dashed at me again, but this time I was ready. I sprung back, narrowly dodging the poisoned blade that appeared in his hand. He slashed at me again, and I could do nothing but take another leap away.

"You can't keep dodging forever!" The Boss snarled. I frowned at him, trying to coolly analyze the next direction his blade was going to take. I had never seen the Boss fight before (and nor, I doubt, had anyone else) and already I could tell he was rather unpredictable. No definite style.

There! The Boss's knife came whizzing through the air from my right. High enough that it was easy to drop to my knees instead of jumping back. His eyes widened at my unexpected move. I gripped the hilt of my right dagger tightly, and thrust up.

My dagger slide smoothly into his gut, right below his ribcage. He gasped, staggering back. I yanked my knife out.

His hands were vainly trying to stop the rush, and from the rapid drip-drip-drip on the cement sidewalk, he wasn't having much success. I somberly rose to my feet.

The Boss looked up at me, his expression still surprised.

"You shouldn't have done that."

My nerves tingled with a sense of foreboding. Uh-oh. Something wasn't right. Usually people who were dealt a fatal blow tended to choose different last words. The Boss's whole body began to shake and convulse, like he was having a very epic seizure. I took a nervous step back. I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all.

His already very huge body was now growing larger, his muscles expanding, and his skin color darkening. His fingernails lengthened, turning into lethal looking claws. My body tensed, every one of my instincts screaming at me to run away. But somehow, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I started this, and I was going to finish it.

The Boss's transformation finished, and he stood before me, resembling a drooling, snarling animal. I made a mental note to not let him bite me, in case he had rabies.

"Y…you…" He growled, almost incapable of human speech. I searched for some clever quip to insert, but I came up blank.

"Time to run," I muttered to myself, turning on my heel and sprinting off. Now I had a nice appreciation for the Tane part of the Boss.

The Boss was crashing down the sidewalk after me. Any offending streetlights were instant ripped out of the ground by the Boss's massive clawed arms. Even as fast as I was, the Boss's long legs were easily keeping up. This didn't look like it was going to end well for me.

I glanced back at the Boss, and in my moment of distraction, I crashed into something very solid. I stumbled. Strong hands flashed out and grabbed my arms to keep me on my feet.

"Zen?" Hiei asked in surprise. "What's going on?"

Kurama was standing beside Hiei, and his green eyes widened when he saw what was chasing me. I shook Hiei's hands off me and grabbed both boys' arms.

"Talk later, run now!" I said shortly, taking off at a sprint again. The Boss had gained on me greatly in the diversion, and now I wasn't sure if we could escape.

"What the hell is that?" Hiei shouted as we ran.

"The Boss when he forgets to take his medication, apparently."


	14. Chapter 14

Welcome to the last chapter of Zen Garden! Thank you so much for your support and sorry I'd been so erratic with my updating and stuff! I hope you enjoy!

And don't worry, this won't be the last time we see Zen. I'm already working on a sequel and a short prequel!

* * *

I was getting sick of running. But I was far too weak to deal with the Boss, and I currently had no plan. The one thing I did know was that Hiei and Kurama could _not_ be allowed to hurt the Boss.

"Why the hell not?" Hiei snarled after I refused his suggestion of a Dragon of the Darkest Flame.

"Because," I gasped. "It's the Boss's defense mechanism. Ancient magic that protects him against attacks from those outside the Requiem. Not even your Dragon could override the mechanism."

Hiei swore violently, and I thought of a plan. I spun around suddenly to face the Boss.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Hiei bellowed. I threw up my hand, erecting something of the same force field that had protected Hiei from Tane's blast all those weeks ago. Except this one could only be broken by myself, and it was currently caging Kurama and Hiei in.

"Zen!" Hiei yelled. I turned to face him.

"Wish me luck!" I said, blowing him a kiss. He blinked at me, stunned. I looked away from him as the Boss finally caught up. A wicked grin slipped across his face when he saw the force field.

"All…alone." He managed to grunt. I gave him a small smile.

"That's how I've always been." I crouched low, slipping a dagger into each of my hands. "Don't underestimate me."

I dashed at the Boss, slashing my knives low. He dodged back, and I hissed in fury while executing a roundhouse kick. I caught him in the stomach, and his abdominal muscles shattered the bones in my left foot. I gasped in agony and fell to the ground.

The Boss laughed, a guttural sound that ground on my eardrums. One of his massive hands reached out towards my throat, with the certain promise of a broken neck. I hastily dug in my pouch tied to my waist, trying to ignore the pain in my foot. I pulled out the item I was looking for, put it to my palm, and slammed it against the Boss's lower torso.

The tool was a flat circle with two spikes on opposite sides. One of the spikes pierced right through his flesh, while the other impaled my hand. I winced, but forced myself to say the invoking word.

The Boss froze, and I found myself immobile as well. All I could do was watch as both spikes began to suck something golden and wispy from our bodies, holding it in the circle. My strength began to rapidly fade.

More ancient magic. The device was one that sucked the life from the two beings that were skewered by the spikes. It was killing us both.

My vision was becoming blurry now, but the golden glow was stronger than ever. I wanted it back, but…I…

The device retracted its spikes and fell to the ground, now a golden sphere. The Boss collapsed a second later as a pile of ash, which meant that I wouldn't be able to take a power souvenir from him but at the moment, I had more pressing concerns. I began to sway, no longer held still by the tool. I blinked once, twice, and fell back.

I was caught by strong, warm arms, and something in the back of my mind told me that my force field must have faded. I looked at Hiei's blurry features above me, glad that it was going to be the last thing I saw.

"Zen, what did you do?" He whispered urgently.

I found myself unable to explain. "Well, you know." I said softly. "Taking one for the team."

"Don't say that!" He snarled viciously. I fell quiet. I didn't want to spend my last moments in life arguing. I closed my eyes.

"Dammit!" Hiei cried, slapping my face roughly. My eyes fluttered open. "You are _not_ dying on me!" He turned away from me, looking at Kurama in a panic. "Help me!"

Kurama muttered instructions to Hiei, but I couldn't hear properly. Hiei nodded curtly and lowered his head.

I received the shock of my nearly death when Hiei pressed his lips against mine. I couldn't breathe right anymore and I felt my heart beginning to beat stronger. But I was still weak. I felt the warmth leaving immediately when he pulled away from me. Black spots began to invade my vision.

"Hiei…" I breathed, just a second before I lost consciousness.

I came back into the world of the awake slowly. I felt heavy and groggy, like I had gained a lot of weight in a very short time.

I sat up, and my head swam. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to get over it. I was in a bed. Kurama's bed. But he wasn't around.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. I hissed in pain and my knees buckled. I had forgotten about my foot. It had been bandaged, but it was obviously still very broken.

The door flew open, and Hiei stood there. I had never been so happy to see someone before on my life.

"Zen!" He said, rushing to me. My skin tingled when he touched my arm to see if I was alright.

"Ow," I said, pointed to my foot. Hiei scoffed.

"You moron." Before I could retort, he scooped me up in his arms and laid me back on the bed. I was having problems breathing again, and my heart seemed to be doing a very fast march in my chest. Hiei closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"You moron!" He yelled and I flinched. "What the hell were you using a Macedonian Draining Amulet for? You could have died!"

His shouting was making my head throb. I rested a hand on my head and closed my eyes. I felt Hiei press a hand to the back of mine.

"I'm sorry," He said quietly. I smiled slightly.

"Why didn't I die, though?" I whispered. "I may have had more life energy than the Boss, but that still should have killed me."

Hiei fell silent for a moment. "The kiss." He said softly and my heart leapt painfully again. "I transferred some of my energy to you."

I sat up slowly. "Thank you," I murmured. Hiei glanced at me like he wanted to say something. I waited.

"You aren't alone anymore." He said. My breath caught and I waited for him to continue. And waited. And…

"You mean a lot to me, Zen," Hiei sighed at last.

"And?" I prodded.

"And…I suppose I love you."

My mouth fell open in mock horror. "You _suppose?"_ I screeched. "Thanks a lot! I might as well just up and leave right now!"

"No!" Hiei said hastily, reaching out to grab my shoulders. "That's not what I meant. I…I really do love you, Zen."

I smiled. "That's better." I stretched up on the bed to give him a little kiss on the lips.

Hiei cleared his throat. "I hate to remind you, but I am the only one who's confessed so far."

I laughed softly. "And I hate to remind you, but you are a telepath, aren't you? Reading my actual feelings seems much more personal than me saying them."

"Oh." Hiei said. I felt him probing into my mind and I pushed all my thoughts about him to the front where he could sift through them. "Oh!"

I reached up and hooked my fingers in the fabric of his cloak. I pulled him down.

"Get it now?" I whispered against his mouth. "I love you, you idiot."


End file.
